Thunder and Lightening
by echoinmymind
Summary: TrailerInsidexxx -- Kind of Nileyxxx -- R
1. Trailer

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for the plot of the story.

_**Title Here**_

**Trailer**

_Best friends since birth, Nick and Miley were aspiring singers_

**Shows Nick and Miley uploading there next video to YouTube**

_They said that they were in this together_

**Shows Nick and Miley doing their handshake and making a promise**

_But what will happen when the producers only want one of them_

**Shows Nick being taken into the management office, without Miley**

_What will happen when Miley finds out they don't want her_

**Shows Miley in disbelief when she heard about what Nick had done**

_Will there friendship be ruined by all of this_

**Shows Nick and Miley yelling at each other as Nick is packing**

_What will happen 2 years later when Nick's a big star . . ._

**Shows Nick signing autographs**

_And he forgot about his best friend from the past_

**Shows Miley meeting Nick at a concert and he doesn't even remember her**

_What will happen when a record company signs Miley_

**Shows Miley signing the papers**

_Will these two best friends ever became best friends again?_

_Will Miley make it in the music industry?_

**Shows Miley crying in her dressing room**

_What will happen to Miley and Nick?_

_Find out in . . ._

_**Thunder and Lightening**_

**Starring:**

**Miley Stewart**

"_We made a promise, Nick! Don't you care about me?!"_

**Nick Gray**

"_Miley, I need you to realize that this is my big break! I'm sorry."_

**Selena Russo**

"_He's good; I approve"_

**Demi Torres**

"_So what's this I hear about a new girl?"_

**And many more**

**Coming Soon**

**A/N:**** Okay, before I say anything, please do not mock me for my terrible trailer-making skills! I promise, the story will be a lot better than this crappy trailer! So, please just give it a chance. And please do not mock me, Melissa!**


	2. Part 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for the plot of the story.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 1

"Nicholas, wake up!" the peppy girl screamed on the Saturday morning. She jumped on top of him in his bed, trying to wake her brown-eyed best friend. He grunted, as she giggled loudly.

"Wake. Up!" she yelled in his ear, as he opened his eyes and glared at his brown-haired best friend.

"What are you doing here at 11 in the morning . . . on a Saturday!" he said, collapsing back onto his bed.

"I wanted to see you!" she said, giving him her best puppy-dog pout. He looked over at her and gave in, getting out of bed.

"You know I fall for that every time!" he said, disgruntled. He walked into the shower and closed the door.

"What are you doing?!" she questioned, standing up and smoothing out her knee-length fluffy skirt.

"I am taking a shower, smarty pants! I have a feeling I know what you want to do, so I need to look presentable!" he yelled through the door, as the water started. She huffed, sitting down on his computer chair, crossing her legs. She waited impatiently for 15 minutes, picking at one of the buttons on her light blue cardigan, covering her white t-shirt.

"Nicholas, hurry up!" she yelled once she heard the water shut off. 5 minutes later, he came out in a pair of khaki shorts and a plaid shirt.

"You look lovely, now can we please start it now!" she said, bouncing in her seat. Nick looked down at his best friend and smiled. He treated her like a little sister, and she didn't mind that. He felt like he needed to protect her from the world. She believes that there was no bad in the world, which I guess is good if you can be shielded from the bad things that do happen. He pulled over a chair and set up his webcam. He grabbed his guitar, as she smiled. He turned on the webcam, as Miley smiled into it.

"Hello everyone! This is Miley and Nick, again. We have a new song that we wrote, so I hope you all like it." She giggled as Nick smiled and started playing.

(**Nick,**_Miley,__**Both**_)

**Little lady on the moon, close your eyes  
You can dream about the fire, while resting in tonight  
Protect your heart  
Close your eyes**

**I will calm my racing heart and my mood  
I will listen to the shadow lands and brace what's coming true  
Calm my heart  
Close my eyes**

**Love only knows while the fire is a fire and it burns from letting go  
Steady as she goes  
And I never stare  
But she blinds me with her beauty, I never dare  
Dare to have a doubt  
'Cause I'd rather be blind, I realized, while the fire was out**

_What a rush your were the cavalier  
The modern man will make it disappear_

**And I will take your words of wisdom dear  
Your modern man will never reappear, oh no**

_Protect my heart  
_**Close your eyes**

**Love only **_**knows while the fire is a fire and it burns from letting go  
Steady as we go  
And I never stare  
'Cause you blind me with your beauty  
And I never dare  
Dare to have a doubt**_

'_Cause I'd rather be blind, I realized  
__**'Cause I'd rather be blind, I realized, while the fire was out**_

Once they finished the last note, Miley smiled and turned off the webcam.

"Good job, Miles." He said, giving her a side hug.

"So what do you want to do today?!" she asked, bouncing. He smiled, as he uploaded the video onto their channel.

"I don't know, what do you want to do?" he asked, as it finished uploading.

"Well, it's the first day of summer; we should do something fun!" she said, as she stood up.

"Let's go out for breakfast and then we can go to the park, and then you can push me on the swings!" she said, as he smiled and got up.

"Sounds great, just let me get my wallet and put on some shoes." He said, sliding his wallet into his pocket and put on a pair of tennis shoes.

"Let's go!" she clapped, skipping through the hallway and down the stairs. He rolled his eyes playfully and followed after her. They walked outside, as Miley waited for him to get his bike. The two fourteen year olds rode to the local ice-cream shop. Living in a small town had its advantages; seeing as your were only a walk or a bike ride away from everything.

"So what are you getting?" she asked him, leaning her bike up against the building. He shrugged, putting his there too.

"I have no idea, what about you?" he asked her, as they walked into Taylor's Ice Cream Parlor.

"Hi Mr. Cross." Miley said cheerfully, walking up to the counter and sitting down on one of the stools.

"Hello there Miley and Nicholas! How are you all doing?" he asked, as I smiled.

"I'm doing fine, but Nick is being a little grumpy this morning." The girl giggled as she roamed the choices.

"It's too early." Nick grumbled.

"It's 11:45; it is not too early. You need to start going to bed earlier!" she shot back and then smiled.

"Okay Mr. Cross, I would like a small cheesecake ice cream in a cup with whip cream and a cherry." Miley said as she looked to Nick.

"I'll have a large raspberry ice cream with chocolate chips in a cup." He said, pulling out a five dollar bill. He handed it to Mr. Cross, as he started getting the ice cream.

"Why did you get a large? That's a lot of ice cream." She said, as he looked at her.

"Yes, but I know you will have some, so that will make it into a medium, so therefore, that's why I got a large."

"Nice thinking." She said, grabbing a spoon and some napkins. Soon enough their ice cream was brought to them as they dug in.

"Thank you." She said, eating Nick's ice cream.

After they finished, they left the establishment, they rode to the park.

"Wow, I've never seen this place empty!" Miley said, throwing her bike down in the grass and running over to the big wooden swing. Nick went behind her and pushed her until she got as high as she wanted. He smiled as he watches her giggling and smiling.

"You having fun?" he asked, as he grabbed the swing, making her stop abruptly.

"Geez Nick." She said, hoping off the swing.

"Nick, will you go on the big slide with me?" she asked, as he nodded, going over to the slide with her. It kind of amazed him how innocent and conservative she actually was. She doesn't wear anything much above the knee, she doesn't wear any-make, and she doesn't wear revealing clothes. Most of the girls he knows only wear those things, so it's kind of refreshing to see Miley every day.

"Nicholas, stop daydreaming!" she said, climbing up the ladder. He climbed up behind her, as she left room for his legs beside her.

"You ready?" he asked, as she nodded. He pushed off, as they made their way down the tallest slide in the park. Once they got to the bottom, she stood up and put her hand out for him to grab. Once he came up, she fell back down on the mulch.

"God job." He joked, as he reached out his hand for her to grab. She smiled embarrassingly as she was pulled up. She wiped off her skirt, as she walked over to the monkey bars.

"How much longer do you want to stay here?" he asked, sitting on the bars next to her.

"I don't know, a while. What do you want to do Mr. Grumpy Pants?" she asked, moving her legs back and forth.

"I would like to go swimming at the pool." He said, as she shrugged.

"That's fine, but you know it will be packed; that's probably why no one is here right now." She said, sliding off the bars. He slid off, as they walked over to their bicycles.

"I'll go to my house and then you come over after you change. Make sure you knock before you come in my room, though." She said, as I rolled my eyes.

"Okay Mi, now let's go." He said, riding off to his house, as Miley went the other way.

--

After Nick changed, he went over to Miley's house and used his key. Her house was empty, as he shrugged, walking up the stairs to her room.

"Knock knock." He said through the door.

"Calm on in." she said, as he walked in as she was putting her towel in her bag.

"You ready?" she asked, as he nodded.

"You know, you need a bikini." He said, as she shook her head. He looked over her tankini as she looked at him weird.

"Nicholas, I do not wear bikinis and you know that. So please do not mock me." She said, brushing past him out of her room.

"Okay sorry, don't wear a bikini, I was just joking." He said, giving her a hug. She hugged him back and smiled.

"I know, but don't mock me, I get enough of that." She said, as he looked at her confused.

"Who mock's you?" he asked, as she sighed.

"Just some of those girls at school; they mock me for wearing clothes like I do and not wearing clothes like they do. They just think I'm weird." She said, as he sighed.

"Miles, you are not weird. You are my best friend and I like the way you are, so forget about them." He said, giving her another hug. She hugged him back tighter, and smiled.

"Thank you, Nick; Now let's go!" she said, walking down the steps. He smiled as she went down the stairs, and then followed her out the door, as they walked to the local pool.

--

"Great, just like I expected, there is a bunch of kids here." He said, as he opened the gate into the pool area. Miley shook her head at him, as they found two open long chairs, as Miley put her towel over it and lay down.

"I thought you come here to swim, not sit." He said, sitting down on the chair next to hers.

"Well I want to read some before I get all wet." She said, pulling out her book.

"Interesting; now would you like me to wait on you to get your dialing reading done, or can I go ahead and swim." He said, putting sun-screen over his body. She looked over at him and shrugged.

"Do whatever you would like Nicholas, I am fine. Go ahead and start swimming, I'll get in in a little while." She said as he nodded and jumped into the pool, splashing water on Miley and her book. Once he came out of the water and smiled at her.

"Nick, that's rude!" she said, putting her book away and going over to the edge of the pool and dipping her legs in.

"Just come in, Mi. It's not that bad." He said, as she threw her sunglasses over to her bag.

"Fine." She said, about to come in. Right when she was about to, she was pushed in the pool, hard, making her go all the way to the bottom.

"What the hell?!" he yelled, as Miley came up coughing loudly. Nick looked up and saw one of the 'sluts' of the town; Madison.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my bad, are you okay?" she asked in a very annoying, very fake voice. Nick rubbed Miley's back as she tried to cough out the water that filled her lungs unexpectedly.

"Madison, you are such a bi-jerk!" he said, remembering Miley could hear him. She hated it when people cursed.

"It was just an accident, I'm sure she understands. And plus, she won't be mad, seeing as she is a goody-goody two-shoes loser." She said, as Nick glared at her and helped Miley out of the pool. He grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her and picked up her bag and his stuff and started leaving.

"Have a nice day!" Madison said, waving at them obnoxiously.

--

"Are you okay, Mi?" he asked her once they got back to his house.

"Hey guys, I haven't seen you all day. Did you have fun?" Nick's mother asked, coming out of the kitchen.

"Um yeah, but our fun at the pool ended . . . abruptly, and now we are going to go change." Nick said, as his mother looked at him confused, but nodded.

"Well, I was going to make Mac n' cheese for dinner in about an hour." Mrs. Gray said, as the two teens nodded, walking upstairs.

"So, do you want to take a shower?" Nick asked her, as Miley nodded, having the towel wrapped tightly around her.

"Yeah, that's fine." She said, as Nick went over to his drawers and got out a t-shirt and basketball shorts. He handed them to her, as she headed to Nick's bathroom.

"My mom replenished all your bath things; they should be under the sink." He said, as she nodded, shutting the door.

--

After dinner, Nick and Miley went down into the den to watch a movie.

"So, today was . . . eventful." Nick said, sitting on the couch next to Miley. She scoffed and then looked up at him.

"I guess that's a way to put it." She said, turning her head back to the TV.

"Sorry Miles." He said as she nodded. After a long pause, Miley finally spoke up.

"Hey Nick, can you promise me something?" Miley asked, turning the movie off.

"Yeah, of course." He said, giving her his full attention.

"You promise to always be my best friend, and never leave me?" she asked him, as he nodded, smiling.

"Of course Mi, I promise." He said, going their secret, special handshake. She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder, as she started the movie.

**A/N:**** So there you have it. There is the first chapter of my new story. I hope you all enjoy it. Please review and tell me what you think. Thank you all!**


	3. Part 2

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 1

Two days later, Nick and Miley were sitting in his room, decided on what song to do.

"Should we do a slow song or should it be like fast or upbeat and whatnot." She asked him, as he shrugged.

"I guess slow would be better. Do you have any ideas?" he asked, as she shook her head. Then she thought of a song.

"I know the perfect one, but it has to be played on the piano." She said, grabbing his closed laptop and running downstairs. He looked down at the ground, shaking his head, as he followed after her downstairs. When he got down there, he say Miley sitting down on the piano bench in the living room, adjusting the webcam on his laptop to make sure it showed the correct angle.

"So what song are we doing?" he asked, as she got up and went over to the racks of music books. It was his mother's collection, and some of it was his deceased father's; he died when Nick was only 5 due to a heart attack. She shuffled through the racks carefully, as he just sat down on the grand piano bench. She found the book and pulled it out, finding the piano part for the song she wanted. She placed it on the piano, as he read over it.

"Wait . . . this is only a solo song." He said, confused.

"Yes, I know. I was thinking that maybe you could do a song, and then I would do a song. I think you should do that song." She said, giggling and sitting over on chair next to the piano. She crossed her legs, as he looked over at her.

"So does that mean I get to pick your song?" he asked, as she nodded. He turned the webcam on, as he started playing.

_**There's a lot that I don't know  
There's a lot that I'm still learning  
But I think I'm letting go  
To find my body, it's still burning**_

_**And you hold me down  
And you got me living in the past  
Come on and pick me up  
Somebody clear the wreckage from the blast**_

_**Yeah I'm alive  
I don't need a witness  
To know that I survived  
I'm not looking for forgiveness**_

_**Yeah, I just need light  
Light in the dark as I search for the resolution**_

_**And the bars are finally closed  
So I'll try living in the moment  
'Till the moment it just froze  
And I felt sick and so alone**_

_**I can hear the sound  
Of your voice still ringing in my ear  
I'm going underground  
But you'll find me anywhere I feel**_

_**Yeah, I'm alive  
But I don't need a witness  
To know that I survived  
I'm not asking for forgiveness**_

_**Yeah, I just need light  
I need light in the dark as I search for the resolution  
I need light in the dark as I search for the resolution**_

_**(Tomorrow back from hell)  
Resolution  
(Some stories I will never tell)  
Resolution  
(And yeah, I'm almost home)**_

_**And you hold me down  
Yeah you hold me down**_

_**Yeah, I'm alive  
But I don't need a witness  
To know that I survived  
I'm not looking for forgiveness**_

_**Yeah, I'm alive  
But I don't need a witness  
To know that I survived  
I'm not looking for forgiveness**_

_**Yeah, I just need light  
I need light in the dark as I search for the resolution  
I need light in the dark as I search for the resolution  
I need light, I need light**_

_**Light in the dark as I search for the resolution  
(Resolution)  
Light in the dark as I search for the resolution  
(Resolution)  
Light in the dark as I search for the resolution**_

Nick turned the webcam off, saving the video.

"Dang Nick, that was really good. I don't know if mine will be as good." Miley replied, as Nick got up from the piano bench and putting the music book back and searching for a song for Miley.

-

It was kind of amazing how both of them had superb musical talent; especially Miley. Nick's talented was god given, as was hers; but even when they started doing this, Nick need a little help learning some instruments and on some of the ranges in his voice. But both of them were talented; no doubt about it. Miley stood up, walking over to the piano bench, running her fingers lightly over the keys. Miley always loved playing the piano; it was her favorite instrument. It was the first instrument she started playing; mostly because that's the instrument her parents taught her before they were killed tragically in a car crash when she was 6; she lives with her grandmother now. That is probably why Miley and Nick have such a musical connection, because it's what their parents loved, and both of them had lost at least one parent.

-

"I found one Miles." He said, putting the music book out in front of her. She smiled, as he smiled back at her. She loved this song. She turned the webcam on, playing the melody softly.

_**It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song  
You can't believe it, you were always singing along  
It was so easy and the words so sweet  
You can't remember, you try to feel the beat**_

_**Eeeeeeeeeet, Eeeeeeeeeet  
Eet, Eet, Eet**_

_**You spend half of your life trying to fall behind  
You're using your headphones to drown out your mind  
It was so easy and the words so sweet  
You can't remember, you try to move your feet**_

_**Eeeeeeeeeet, Eeeeeeeeeet  
Eet, Eet, Eet**_

_**Someone's deciding whether or not to steal  
He opens a window, just to feel the chill  
He hears that outside a small boy just started to cry  
'Cause it's his turn, but his brother won't let him try**_

_**It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song  
You can't believe it, you were always singing along  
It was so easy and the words so sweet  
You can't remember, you try to move your feet**_

_**It was so easy and the words so sweet  
You can't remember, you try to feel the beat  
Tt, tt, ttt, ttt, ttt**_

Miley smiled and then turned off the webcam.

"I don't know what you were worried about; that was amazing." He said, grabbing his laptop and saving her video. He went to YouTube and started uploading the two videos.

"Really?" she asked, with a really big, sweet, smile on her face. He grinned, nodding.

"You are so talented Miss Miley." He said, giving her a hug.

"Thanks." She said, blushing.

"I think the both of you are talented." Nick's mother said, coming out of the kitchen.

"Thanks mom." He said, as Miley got up and walked over to Mrs. Gray. She gave her a hug, as it kind of shocked Mrs. Gray for a moment, but hugged her back.

"Are you okay, Miley?" she asked her, as Miley nodded, letting go.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, as Nick turned off his laptop.

"Is that cookies I smell?" Nick asked, as his mom smiled.

"Yes, I made homemade sugar cookies, and I figured I'd let you two decorate them." She said, right as Nick and Miley ran into the kitchen.

--1 Week Later

"Nick, there's an important phone call for you." His mother said, as she handed him the phone and then left the room.

"Hello?" he asked, holding onto the phone, setting his guitar down on his bed.

"Hello is this Nick Gray?" the voice asked.

"Yeah, this is he." He said, standing up.

"Well Hello Mr. Gray, this is Josh McDavid, the president of Platinum Records, and I was wondering if you would like to fly out to LA and have a meeting with us." He said, as Nick's jaw was down to the floor.

"For what?" he asked, shocked. Josh laughed, as he replied.

"To see if we want you on our label." He said, as Nick's first thought to call Miley.

"Wow, when?" he asked.

"This weekend, we will cover all travel expenses. But there is one condition." He said, as Nick paused.

"What?" he asked.

"Do not bring the girl; we only want you, not her. Do we have a deal?" Mr. McDavid asked. Before Nick could even think about it, he replied with a . . .

"Yes."

--

After the worked out all of the details, Nick hung up the phone and ran downstairs.

"Mom!" he yelled, running into the kitchen.

"What? What is it?" she asked, dropping what she was doing.

"They want me!" he yelled.

"Who wants you, sweetie?" she asked, as he grinned.

"That was the president of Platinum Records! The want me and you to fly out to LA this weekend so they can meet with me! They said they would cover all of the travel expenses, all we have to do is come!" he yelled, as she hugged her song tightly.

"Oh my gosh, this is amazing!" she said, tears of joy falling from her eyes.

"I have to go pack!" he said, making a bee-line for the steps.

"Wait, are you going to call Miley and tell her the good news?" she asked, as Nick froze; it just hit him that they only wanted him and not her.

"Oh crap." He said, as Mrs. Gray looked at her son confused.

"What?" she asked, as he turned around.

"They said they didn't want her. They didn't even want her to come to the meeting. I can't believe I just did that!" he screamed, kicking the wall.

"Well, she will understand honey. This is a big opportunity for you, you should take it." She said, walking over to her distraught son.

"But what am I going to tell her? I promised her we were in this together!" he said, tears of frustration rolling down his cheek.

"You can't let this pass you bye, Nicholas, you have to take this opportunity. I'll tell Miley, okay. It might be better that way." She said, giving her son a hug. He nodded, standing up and solemnly walking up the stairs.

--On the plane

"How did Miley take it?" he asked his mother, as they were sitting in first class on the plane.

"Um, she took it fine. She understood that this is a huge opportunity for you and she doesn't want to stand in your way." She said, lying to her own son. Truth is, she never told Miley. She kept waiting for the right time and it never came, so they left for LA, without Miley knowing about it.

After a few long hours, they finally landed at the LAX. Once they got their small amount of luggage, they were standing out, waiting for their ride to get there. As they were waiting, Nick's phone rang.

"Hello?" he asked, pulling his sunglasses over his eyes.

"Nick, its Miley. Where are you? I haven't seen you all week!" she said, as he looked at his mom, confused.

"I'm in LA, smarty. You know this." He said nonchalantly.

"What?! You're in LA?! What for?" she asked, as he heard his bike being thrown to the ground.

"My mom called you and told you that I had a meeting in LA for Platinum Records. She said you were cool with it." He said, as he looked over at his mother, as he saw a nervous expression on his mother's face. Then he realized that his mother made all that up and that she never called her.

"You mother hasn't called me and why didn't you invite me with you? I thought we promised that we'd be in this together?" she said, quietly. She sounded so heartbroken, that it pained Nick to even reply.

"Miley, I'm sorry, but I have to go." He said, about to hang up.

"Why did you invite me to come?!" she asked loudly. She continued asking this, until he got annoyed.

"Because Miley, they didn't want you. They specifically asked me not to bring you, so I didn't. They didn't want you on their label, they only wanted me. Okay?" he yelled, losing control of his emotions. The last thing he heard was a small whimper and then the line went dead. He sighed, looking over at his mother.

"Why didn't you tell her?!" he asked, as the car pulled up.

"Because, I never found the right time." She said, as the driver put their luggage in the back. The two of them slid into the limo, as Nick thought over to events that had happened in the last five minutes. He has never yelled at her before; not ever. He feels like such a jerk, but deep down, he realizes that this is for him and that he can't let her get in the way.

As they pulled up to Platinum Records, they were escorted inside the huge building and were taken over to the elevator and then they went up to the 17th floor, where his office was. Once they got there, they walked down the long hall, where all the famous records hung. Once they got into his office, they said him sitting in his huge chair.

"Hello there Nick and Nick's mother." He said, as they sat down across from him.

"Hello Mr. McDavid." He said, as the man laughed.

"Oh please, call me Josh." He said, pulling out a contract from his desk drawer.

"Now, Nick, this is a standard contract, stating that if you are to sign with us, you would be signing for 2 years at a time to start off, and if we get good feedback from you, then it will be more, which means more money. Also, about the songs; we will need more upbeat songs, okay?" he asked, as Nick nodded, overwhelmed.

"I saw your videos on YouTube, and you are very talented." He said, as Mrs. Gray looked toward Josh.

"What did you think about Miley?" she asked.

"Who?" he asked.

"The girl, in the videos." She said, as he shrugged.

"She was alright, not exactly what I'm looking for, but you, Nick, are exactly what I'm looking for. So why don't you and your mother take a little while to look that over and just sign whenever you are ready." He said, as Nick nodded.

--

"Now Nick, you all would have to move out to Los Angeles. We will provide you a house for a couple of months until your income starts coming in. Will you all be able to move out to LA by Tuesday?" he asked.

"But it's Saturday." Nick said.

"Yes, I know that, but I would like you out her as soon as possible so we can start getting you noticed. Now, you will be hanging out with the stars of this company for a while, just to get you started. Now, will you be able to be back out her by Tuesday?" he asked, as Mrs. Gray nodded.

"Okay, well, you should get back to the airport. Your flight back leaves in an hour. Thank you very much for coming." He said, as the left his office and the building.

--

Even though Nick got back late Saturday night, they haven't talked face to face since the Monday before that. It's now Tuesday morning and he is getting ready to leave. He really wants to say goodbye to her, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

"I'm going out to the car, Mom." He said, talking his suitcase and walking out the front door.

"Hello Nick." The familiar voice said, as he dropped his last suitcase and it fell down the steps.

"How did you know I was leaving today?" he asked.

"It's a small town, Nick, everyone knows everything." She said, trying to shrug off the fact that her best and only friend was leaving her.

"Miley, I'm so sorry, but this is a really big deal." He said, as she nodded, biting her bottom lip.

"I know and I just came to say I hope you do well." She said, sticking out her hand to give him a handshake. He looked at her confused.

"Miley . . ." he started.

"Nick don't, please. Just shake my hand so I can leave." She said, biting her bottom lip harder. He voice got shaky, as he sighed, shaking her hand.

"Goodbye Nicholas." She said, walking away from his house and back through the town square.

"Goodbye Mi."

**A/N:**** Now wasn't that just uplifting? So, I hope you like this chapter. Also, for Miley's voice, think of like a Lea Michele/Kate Voegele voice, and for Nick, think of like an Andrew McMahon voice. So, leave a review and let me know what you think. **


	4. Part 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 3

1 month later, everything for Miley has gone south. She is starting back at school in the next couple weeks and she is worried. She has no one to talk to, and her happy personality is slowly fading. She won't talk to her grandmother anymore and she is just wasting away her summer in her dark room, as she tries to block out the cruel world facing her.

1 month later, everything for Nick has gone north. He has had 2 hit singles already and is getting noticed fairly quickly. People are responding to his music well and he is slowly forgetting about the girl he left behind. He loves his new life, and he loves the attention he is getting. He's been meeting celebrities he never thought he would ever be able to see. He loves his new life and he is ready for the next step of his new career facing him.

Since Nick left that day, 1 long month ago, the two friends had not even spoken. Nick tried for a couple of days, but either he couldn't get it to connect or she wouldn't answer. So eventually he stopped trying, and left the distraught teenage girl to herself. Nick's mother tried to bring up Miley once a few days ago, and it was like she never existed to him. He never thought about her anymore and somehow, Miley knew it. She knew he had moved on from his old small-town life and how he would never be back. Sometimes she wondered how you could just forget about a person completely, but that was what Nick was able to accomplish in just a short 30 days.

--

As of right now, Nick is getting ready to start recording a new song, 'Without You'. He is hoping this song will get an even greater reaction than the first two. While is he out in the hall, drinking his water, his new iPhone buzzed in his pocket. Without even looking at the caller ID, he answered.

"Hello, this is Nick." He said, leaning back against the wall.

"Hello Nicholas." The sweet voice said. He recognized that voice in a heartbeat.

"Miley?" he asked, just to make sure he was hearing things correctly.

"Yeah, it's me." The voice said, unsure. He knew that tone. It was full of heartbreak and despair, but he couldn't think of that right now.

"What do you want?" he asked his voice hostile. She didn't reply for a few seconds, thinking of how to reply to the tone in his voice.

"Listen, I don't have all day. I have to record soon." He said.

"I just thought, that maybe . . ." he paused for a quick second, and he was already interrupting her.

"Thought what?" he asked, sharply.

"I just thought that maybe you would want to talk to me. I mean, we haven't spoken since you left, and I was just . . ." she started again, once again getting interrupted.

"Yes, I know, and whose fault was that? I tried calling you and you never answered, so I stopped trying. Obviously you didn't want to talk to me then, so why now? I mean, I have a wonderful new life and you are probably being held up in your room from your own stupid fear of the world. You need to get over it, Miley. I have new friends and new people to meet. What do you have?" he asked her, as she stayed silent.

"Exactly what I thought, now please, just leave me alone and don't call me. I don't need you anymore, Miley. I don't want to see you or even talk to you again. It's just better this way. It was nice knowing you." He said, while he was about to hang up.

"Fine, if that's what you want, I won't call you or talk to you, but seeing as that this is the last time we're ever going to talk, I was actually going to tell you that you're doing really well and I like your music. I hope you do well Nicholas, I really do. I wish you the best, I really do. Have a great career, Nicholas." She whispered her voice blank of emotion. This confused him, but he chose to move on.

"Well, thanks I guess; now I guess this is goodbye. So, goodbye." He said, hanging up before she got another word in.

"You ready Nick?" Teddy, one of the guys on the label, asked, walking out into the hallway. Nick nodded, getting all of the thoughts about Miley out of his head.

"Yeah, let's go." He replied, walking into the studio room.

--

One the first day back to school, Miley decided to go in with her head held high. In the past few months, she has trained herself to not let anything get to her. On her walk to school, everything was peaceful and quiet, oddly enough. Once she got to school, everyone was staring at her. She walked through the halls, hearing whispers, mostly hurtful things, but she let it slide. She went to the front office, grabbing her schedule and her student ID. She looked at her schedule, seeing she would have easy classes this semester. Her first class was Drawing, something she has always loved, but she never put any time into it.

Ever since Nick left, she had given up music. It hurt her too much. That was one of the few things that got her to break down; so she refused to sing anymore. As soon as she walked into the Drawing class room, the walls she built felt like they had just broken down. Madison and hurtful friends were sitting at the table in front, laughing and giggling. Miley quietly walked to the back of the class room and took a seat at the empty table. The bell rang finally, as the teacher walked into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Hello class, my name is Miss Haynes, and I am your drawing teacher, obviously. So, today, we are going to put the stools in a big circle and find out a little about everyone. Everyone gathered in a circle, in the middle of the classroom; everyone except for Miley that is.

"Come on, dear, come join the circle." Miss Haynes said, a few feet away from Miley. Miley ignored her and opened the drawing book sitting in front of her. She grabbed a black pen from the supplies lying out on the table and started drawing.

"What's your name?" she asked Miley, as everyone in the class was turned and looking at Miley and the young teacher.

"She's a nobody, don't worry about her." Madison said, as Miss Haynes walked over to the group, leaving Miley to her peace.

-

At the end of the hour, the bell rang and everyone left to go to their next class. Miley tore out her drawing and placed it on the table in front of her and then left the class room.

Miss Haynes went over to the table where Miley sat and looked down at the piece of art. It was a 3 part picture, with the setting of a beach. In the sand, words were written, but as the water washed up on the shore, the letters disappeared. The words outlined in black said something that confused, as she whispered them aloud.

_**He Left Me**_

She flipped it over on the back, as there was more writing, in a beautiful cursive, which could have been mistaken as art.

"_My name is Miley, please just let me be."_

Miss Haynes carried the drawing over to her desk, placing it in her drawer.

--

Once Miley got home, she ran straight up stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her. Her day had gotten worse as it went on and she needed someone to be there and make it all better. But, that person was gone now. She decided to do something she hadn't done in a really long time. She went over to her closet, pulling out her guitar and setting up her webcam on her computer. She turned it on and sighed. It was now or never.

_Tears are formin' in your eyes  
A storm is warnin' in the sky  
The end of the world, it seems  
You bend down and fall on your knees  
Well get back on your feet, yeah_

_Don't look away, don't run away  
Baby, its only life  
Don't lose your faith, don't run away  
Baby, it's only life_

_You were always playin' hard  
You never could let down your guard, no  
Oh, but you can't win if you never give in  
In to the voice within, it's sayin' pick up your chin  
Baby let go of it, yeah_

_Don't look away, don't run away  
Baby, it's only life  
Don't lose your faith, don't run away  
Baby, it's only life_

_Don't look away, don't run away  
Baby, it's only life  
Don't lose your faith, don't run away  
Baby, it's only life_

_Take your hesitance, and your self defense  
Leave them behind, it's only life  
Don't be so afraid, of facin' everyday  
Just take your time, it's only life_

_I'll be your steppin' stone; don't be so alone  
Just hold on tight, it's only life  
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah oh_

_Don't look away, don't run away  
Baby, it's only life  
Don't lose your faith, don't run away  
Baby it's only life_

_Don't look away, don't run away  
Baby, it's only life  
Don't lose your faith, don't run away  
Baby, it's only life_

_It's only life, yeah  
It's only life  
Don't look away_

As soon, as she finished, she noticed tears running down her cheeks, as she stopped the video. Despite her crying, she still decided to post it. She saved it to her computer through her blurry vision and uploaded it to her and Nick's channel on YouTube. She solemnly put her guitar away and went over to her bed, falling down onto it. She hasn't cried in a really long time, and now it was time. Every emotion she was holding in spilled out as she wept. She didn't care if her grandmother heard her; she didn't care about anything anymore.

--

While Nick was in his room of his new house in LA, he got an alert to his email about a new video. He slowly clicked on it, not sure if he wanted to see it or not. Once he clicked on it and it loaded, the video started, as he heard the pain in her voice. He closed his eyes, as he listened to the entire song. Half way through, he opened his eyes, seeing the tears pouring out of hers. He really had hurt her and he knew it. He was awful to her and he deserves to be the one in this much pain, not her. Tears were clouding his vision, as he pulled out his cell phone, sending her a message.

'_You're voice is beautiful, I shouldn't have left you. I believe in you, Miley Ray'_

Back in the small town in Connecticut, Miley received the text message, and thought her mid was playing tricks on her. She opened the message anyway, reading it. She didn't give any sign of emotion, she just started typing. She sent the message, as she slammed her phone down on the bed.

'_No you don't; no one does'_

Once Nick read the message, Nick felt as if he was on the verge of a breakdown. He was too caught up in his life that he never thought about how this would affect her. He sent her back a message, hoping she would reply.

'_Mi, I was a jerk, please forgive me'_

She scoffed as she read the message. She didn't believe him.

'_No, now do me a favor and forget about me; everyone else has'_

Nick threw his phone against the wall in frustration as he read the message, he went over to his bed, falling down onto it, as he cried his eyes out. On two opposite sides of the country, the two teenagers were breaking their own hearts and there was nothing anyone could do about it. It's just the way it was meant to be.

Nick should have cared for her more; and Miley should have cared for herself more. The blame for this heartache lies in their hands, as the both cry out for the same reason. The heart takes time to heal, but for these wounds to heal, it would take an eternity.

**A/N:**** And that's what happened. : ] . So, please be nice to me and click the button to review! I would really appreciate it! Thank you very much. And also, I know this is a very long chapter and I am sorry.**


	5. Part 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything part of this story except the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 4

Several months later, Nicholas Jerry Gray is a superstar. With thousands of dedicated fans, and his first album going Gold, it's like a dream come true. It's in mid December now, and Nick and Miley haven't talked in months. He has seemed to have forgotten her though. He is having the time of his life right now and nothing can bring him down. He is at the top of the pedestal, and he is not coming back down; not for anything.

Several months later, Miley Ray Stewart has seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. She goes to school, comes home, goes into her room and hides, and then only appears for something to eat, and then in the morning she walks to school and the pattern continues. Her Grandmother is getting more worried about her every day. Miley seems to be losing a lot of weight, but she is eating all the time. It doesn't make sense, and her grandmother is getting kind of scared.

When Miley returns home from her last day of school, her Grandmother stops her.

"Miley, can you come here for a minute?" she asked her granddaughter, as she heard her sigh and throw her back pack on the ground.

"What?" she asked, rather rudely, coming over to her grandmother. She saw Miley wearing a pair of baggy sweat pants and a rather large t-shirt.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked quite frankly, as Miley rolled her eyes.

"Nothing is wrong with me, so just leave me alone." Miley said, as she started to walk away.

"Miley Stewart, you come back over here and sit down right now." Her grandmother yelled. It stunned the small girl for a moment, never seeing her grandmother act like that.

"What do you want?" Miley asked, shaking over her grandmother's tone.

"Sit down, now." She said, sternly. With an eye roll, she sat down on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked again, but softer.

"Nothing is wrong with me, okay? I'm just tired. I'm sorry I yelled at you." She said, as the older woman nodded.

"It's okay, just please try to be nicer to me, and besides, shouldn't you be happy? Its Christmas break!" said the 64 year old woman. She was actually energetic for her age, which Miley used to like.

"Yeah, I guess." Said Miley, standing up.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom, and then I'm going to get a drink." Miley said, licking her lips from thirst.

After she went into the bathroom, she walked into the kitchen. The old woman smiled, as she turned the TV on, watching one of those old TV game shows. Moments later, there was a loud crash that came from the kitchen.

"Miley? Are you okay?" the woman asked, getting no answer. Worried, she hurriedly got up and raced into the kitchen.

"Oh my god!" she screamed, running over to the phone. She dialed the 3 digit number, as one of the people answer.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"My granddaughter just collapsed!"

"Nicholas, are you ready to go get ready for that new movie premiere?"

"Yes mother." Nick said, as he stuck his iPhone in his back pocket. He slid on his vans and went out of his house and out to his brand new car. He was definitely enjoying the 'rock star' life. Once he got in the passenger seat, he pulled out his phone again, texting back the person from earlier.

"Who are you talking to?" his mother asked, as she pulled out of the driveway and onto the street, where several paparazzi were waiting.

"Selena." He said, casually.

"Who is that?" she asked, trying not to hit any of the photographers.

"God mom, how old are you?" he snapped at her, sending the message.

"Nicholas, I was just asking a question. I know you love your new life and everything, but it can be taken away just as easily as it was given to you, do you understand?" she scolded, as he sighed.

"Yes mom, I'm sorry. And Selena is the star of that Disney show, her last name is Russo." He said, waiting for a reply.

"Oh yes, I've seen her on television before, she seems nice." His mother said, driving out onto the busy highway.

"What movie is this anyway?"He asked.

"It's called _'A Night to Remember'_. I don't remember who is in it, but I think your girlfriend is going to be there." She said, as Nick rolled his eyes.

"Good lord." He said, as he started listening to his iPod, tuning out his mother.

Once they got there, Nick was escorted into a fairly large dressing room. He didn't even know why he was here. Oh well. He got make-up put on his face and he changed into a nice, black suit. Once her finished, he was sent back outside and into a limo, where his mother was waiting, as she was wearing a simple black dress.

"Well don't you look nice, Madre." He said, as she smiled.

"Thank you, honey." She replied, as they were taken to the Theatre.

"Do you think this movie will be good, or will it suck?" Nick asked, checking his phone for any new messages.

"I have no idea, but I'm sure if it does, Miss Selena will keep you company." his mother said, winking at him.

"Seriously, someone just kill me now." He mocked, as the car stopped. As soon as the door opened, the flashing started. This was Nick's first carpet event, and he looked around for his publicist, Emily.

"Hello Mr. Gray." He heard Emily say from behind him. Emily was in her early 20s. She had light brown, wavy hair, and she was very thin.

"Hello Miss Graham." He said, as she showed him wear to stand and who to talk to. It started off to be very confusing for Nick, but he soon got the hang of it.

After taking multiple pictures and talking to over 50 magazine people, he finally got to go inside and find his seat. When he got in there, he saw his mother already in the seats. He told her to wait a minute, so he could find Selena. He finally spotted her, standing next to her best friend. Nick thinks' her name is Demi, but he's not sure. Selena was wearing a gray, shiny dress that ended above the knee. It had a thick strap on one shoulder, and her hair was up in a bun off to the side of her head, with pieces of hair hanging down on the side.

"Hey Selena." Nick said, as she smiled at him.

"Hi Nick!" she said, giving him a friendly hug. They both let go, as Selena turned to Demi.

"Demi, this is Nick, the new boy at Platinum Records, Nick, this is my best friend, Demi." She said, as he shook hands with her.

"It's nice to meet you." He said, as the girl nodded back.

"So, do you want to sit with us?" she asked, as Nick hesitated.

"Um, I don't know, my mom is here and I don't want her to have to sit by herself." Nick said, as Selena smiled.

"Oh, that's fine. Tell her I said hi." Selena said, as Nick went back up to his seat.

"Hey mom, what's up?" Nick asked, as he saw a worried expression on his mother's face.

"Um, nothing, sweetheart. It's nothing." She said, putting up a front. Nick saw right through it, but decided to ignore it.

_10 Minutes Earlier_

While Nick went to talk to Selena, Mrs. Gray got a phone call from someone she hadn't talked to in a long time. She cautiously answered the 'answer' button.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hi Denise, this is Marie, Miley's grandmother." The old women said, not sure if she would remember her or not. Denise could hear the shakiness in the women's voice.

"Yes, of course. How are you?" she asked, trying to make small talk.

"Um, actually I didn't call to talk. I called to tell you that Miley is in the hospital." Marie said, as Denise heard the anger in her voice. Denise honestly couldn't blame her though. Leaving Miley like that was unforgiveable.

"What, what happened? Is she okay?" Denise asked frantically.

"She collapsed. The doctors have been doing tests for about 3 hours now. I have no idea what's going on, but I figured you would at least like to know. Even though you probably don't even care anymore." The old woman said, with hatred.

"Marie, don't be like that." Denise started.

"I will like that if I have to. I'm not going to just watch and let my granddaughter come home every day hurt and sad. Miley has done nothing ever since Nick left her. She doesn't care about anything ever since you all left. I know she is having a horrible time at school, but I can't do anything about that. I just thought you should know how she is doing." Marie said, before she hung up. Denise shockingly hung up the phone, as she looked over at her son, as he smiled while talking to Selena.

She can't tell him how Miley has been doing. It will kill him. She definitely cannot tell him that she collapsed and is in the hospital. She is not going to let her son give up everything he has worked so hard for.

After waiting for almost four hours in the hospital, the doctor walked toward her.

"Hello, are you in relation to Miley Stewart?" he asked. She nodded, as she stood up quickly.

"I'm her grandmother. How is she?"

"Well, she's awake and fine, for the most part." He said.

"What does that mean?" she asked quickly.

"We figured out what was wrong with you granddaughter." He started, as she interrupted.

"What? What is it?" she asked, frantically.

"Miley has diabetes. Thankfully, she only has Type 1." He said, as Marie listened to all the details. It was still hard for her to get over the fact that her only grandchild has diabetes.

After the doctor explained everything, she was finally able to see her.

"Hi Mammy." Miley said, very tired.

"Hi baby." She said, going over and given her a soft hug and a kiss on her forehead.

"How are you feeling, honey?" she asked, sitting down in the chair next to her bed.

"Fine, just really tired; when can I go back home?" she asked, as her eyes were closing.

"We'll go home tomorrow, okay?" Marie said, as Miley nodded and fell asleep.

"Mom, are you sure you're okay?" Nick asked halfway through the movie. The movie was pretty boring, so Nick had nothing better to do.

"I'm fine. Now watch the movie." Denise whispered. She, also, thought the movie was dreadful, but she'd rather watch the movie then have to tell Nick that his former best friend is in the hospital and has diabetes.

"Whatever you say, mother." He replied, sighing. He knew something up, but he decided to just leave it alone. Hopefully this movie would be over soon so he could go home and work on some new songs. The management was getting impatient. He hadn't given them a new song in a few weeks and he was going to make an album soon. But lately, he hadn't had any inspiration. He didn't know what it was, but it was really bothering him.

Once Nick and his mother got home, Nick went straight up to his room.

He went to his email and saw that he had a new message from Josh McDavid. He paused before opening the message.

_**Nicholas Gray,**_

_**We really need some new music from you. You are just starting out and we don't want you to crash and burn before your first year is up. Please, just work on something. We really need some new songs.**_

_**--Josh McDavid**_

He sighed loudly, as he went over to his piano and lifted up the cover. He knew he needed to do something, even if he was up all night. He had to have something to play for Josh tomorrow morning at his meeting with the record company. He didn't want to get dropped, especially now. He started running his fingers over the keys, as a new melody came to him.

Before he knew it, Nick had stayed up all night writing a new song. He rubbed his eyes, as he picked up the sheet music he had been scribbling on all night. He figured he should at least copy down another, neater, copy. Once he finished, he looked over at his clock.

_6:45AM_

He sighed, realizing he wouldn't have any time for a quick nap. His mother was coming to wake him up at 7, seeing as they needed to be at the management office at 9. Of course, they would stop and get breakfast. He trudged into his bathroom, turning on the water. He made sure it was really warm before taking a quick shower.

After he finished taking his shower, he changed into the clothes he planned on wearing to the meeting, making sure it looked good. He didn't want to seem too fancy, yet he didn't want to look like he just rolled out of bed. He decided on a simple red button down long sleeve shirt, pulling the sleeves up his arm, a pair of black skinny jeans, and his black converse. Although it didn't even cross his mind, the shoes he chose were the shoes Miley got him for his last birthday they were together.

He saw the time, seeing it was only 7:30. He walked out of his room and walked downstairs. He smelled something coming from the kitchen. He walked in and saw his mother making breakfast.

"Um, Mom, what are you doing?" he asked his mom. She has hardly made a meal since they moved here.

"I'm making you breakfast. The only thing you have had for breakfast for the past few months is coffee, so I am making pancakes, bacon, eggs, and muffins." She said, smiling. To be more exact, she was making Miley's favorite pancakes, blackberry, and her favorite muffins, banana nut.

"Well, thanks mom." He said, sitting down on the island stool.

"Your welcome." She replied, watching her one and only son sitting down, fidgeting with his phone. She wondered if her son ever thought about Miley anymore. He acted like he completely forgot about her and maybe that's a good thing. I mean, what are the odds that they are going to see each other ever again. Very slim, if not none. So, maybe it's good that Miley was forced out of his life.

"Well, here you go honey." She said, handing him a plate piled with food.

"Thanks . . . mommy!" he said, as she smiled at her son.

Once they got to the studio, all the management people were there. Although, on the edge of the big table, he saw Selena sitting there. She was clad in a simple, yet beautiful yellow dress. He gave her a small smile, as he sat down at the piano.

"I just sort of wrote this song last night, so it's kind of not very good, but it's all I've got right now, so enjoy." He said, as some people laughed. He took a deep breath, as he started playing his new song.

_If I walk, would you run  
If I stop, would you come  
If I say you're the one, would you believe me  
If I would ask you to stay, would you show me the way  
Tell me what to say so you don't leave me_

_The world is catching up to you  
While you're running away to chase your dream  
It's time for one of us to make a move  
'Cause we are asking one another to change  
And maybe I'm not ready_

_But I'll try for your love  
I can hide up above  
I will try for your love  
We've been hiding enough_

_If I sing you a song, would you sing along  
Or wait till I'm gone; oh how we push and pull  
If I give you my heart, would you just play the part  
Or tell me that it's the start of something beautiful_

_Am I catching up to you  
While you're running away to chase your dream  
It's time for us to face the truth  
'Cause we are coming to each other to change  
And maybe I'm not ready_

_But I'll try for your love  
I can hide up above  
I will try for your love  
We've been hiding enough_

_I will try for your love  
I can hide up above_

_If I walk, would you run  
If I stop, would you come  
If I say you're the one, would you believe me_

The boy looked up, seeing everyone standing and clapping for him. Mr. McDavid came over to him and patted his back, shaking his hand.

"I think it's time for you to make a record!"

**A/N:**** la la la la la : ). So, I know this chapter was kind of boring, but it's the longest one for this story. Oh, and we are getting closer to the chapter where Nick and Miley will see each other for the first time, but I'm not giving away any details!**

**Also, I really don't mean to be picky about this, but I only got **_**5 **_**reviews on the last chapter, so please, if you read my story, just take a few seconds and just leave a quick 'nice chapter', or at least something. I **_**really**_** do not want to be one of those people that threatens to quit writing just because hardly anyone is reviewing. I, personally, think that is a stupid reason to quit writing, but that is just me. So, while I'm talking about this, I would really like to thank;**

**BecBoc**** – I loved your review! Thank you very much! I appreciate it!**

**xssofiaa**** – Thank you for your review. I appreciate you taking the time to do so!**

**nileyfan#1**** – Thank you for your **_**multiple**_** reviews. You are so sweet and I looked forward the reading your reviews for future chapters!**

**niley16**** – Thank you for review last chapter! I didn't mean to make anyone cry! Haha. I hope to see your reviews later on!**

**NickJisoffmychain2828**** – thank you for your **_**multiple**_** reviews! Oh, and I meant to say sorry for the chapter being too "short", haha. Also, thank you for also reading the Authors Notes. That means a lot, also. I love your reviews and I can't wait to read your review for this chapter!**


	6. Part 5

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 5

For Nick, life has been flying past him. He never feels like he has a single moment to enjoy all this instant success. His lifestyle has accelerated tremendously, so there is no time to stop and smell the roses. He likes the bustle of everything, which works out well. His life is spanning out perfectly and he is going to enjoy it as long as he can.

For Miley, things have actually gotten better. She has started to realize that she needs to start living her life again. Just because Nick left doesn't mean he took her whole life with him. She is back to the same, old perky Miley, and her grandmother is happy about that.

Miley is sitting in art class, sitting in the back, and drawing. She has returned back to her normal self, but the only person she had at school was Nick, so she is still sitting alone. Miss Haynes made a deal with Miley, so she could draw whatever she wanted and she could just sit in the back of the class, while the other students would do the assigned project. Miley was thrilled at this arrangement, and was grateful that Miss Haynes would always quiet Madison when she had something hateful to say towards Miley.

"Okay class, everyone go to your stations and do the assignment." Miss Haynes said, as Miley heard the shuffling of footsteps, as the students made their way towards their seats. She heard heels making their way over to her table in the back, and she was kind of excited to show Miss Haynes her drawing. Miss Haynes has become Miley's favorite teacher, by far. Every day, Miley would come to her classroom during her lunch period, seeing as Miss Haynes had planning C Block.

"Hello Miley." Miss Haynes said, smiling. Miley gave her a small smile back and turned the drawing towards the teacher. Miss Haynes' smile widened as she stood in awe of her star student's talent.

"This is by far your best drawing, Miley. You are improving, which I didn't think was possible." She said, smiling warmly at Miley.

"Thanks." Miley replied, her cheeks turning red. She was still the shy child she had always been.

"I can't wait to see what you draw during lunch." She said, walking away to assist the other students. Miley smiled proudly, admiring her work.

As soon as her lunch bell rang, she was racing to the art wing, so she could start drawing. She soon arrived at her destination and saw Miss Haynes sitting at her desk, grading drawings and paintings.

"Hello." Miley said quietly, as she sat at the front table. Miss Haynes smiled at her, and then turned her attention.

As soon as the lunch bell rang, signaling it was time for Miley to go back to class, Miss Haynes got up, wanting to see what she drew.

"Let me see, Miley." She said.

"I'll be late to class, though." Miley said.

"I'll write you a note, now let me see it." Miss Haynes said, as Miley reluctantly handed Miss Haynes her drawing book. Miss Haynes was a new teacher, so she might not have known about the recent going-ons of the school. She looked down at the paper confused, before glancing up at Miley.

"Isn't this Nick Gray?" she asked, as Miley nodded.

"Why didn't you draw a picture of him, a really good one I might add. But do you have like a really big crush on him or something?" she asked, wanting to know more.

"Not exactly." Miley said, as she saw kids rushing past the class room. Miss Haynes went over and shut the door and then went back over to Miley, sitting on the stool next to hers.

"We've got an hour. Explain." She said, as Miley sighed.

"Well, I don't know if you knew this or not, but Nick used to live here. He was my best friend. We grew up together. Our parents grew up here together and they were all best friends since middle school. Nick and I were inseparable. We did everything together. He was always there for me. He was my rock; my protector. He shielded me from everyone and everything that would/could cause me pain. He was the best friend any one could ask for. He was there for me when my parents were killed and I was there for him when his father died. He was like my big brother. We would sing and play music together. We would upload videos of us singing to YouTube, just for the fun of it. We started getting a lot of attention from people, but we never thought anything of it. Well, eventually the producer of Platinum Records called . . . for Nick. He went to LA to meet with them and then he came back to get his stuff and then he just left. I don't even know if he tried to get me a contract or if he wanted to get rid of me and just used that as the perfect opportunity. I don't really know. The only thing that I know is that he has forgotten all about me and he is living his life how he had always dreamed. Only, in my dreams, it was us together, not separate. I don't resent him for it, though. I just miss him and I wish he would miss me. We haven't talked in almost a year and I guess I just have to realize that we are never going to be friends again." Miley said, finishing her speech. She didn't notice that she had tears rolling down her cheeks, or Miss Haynes rubbing her back; she only saw the picture she drew of her former best friend. The best friend she loved and that loved her. It broke her heart that he didn't care anymore, and talking about him just made her more vulnerable.

"I hate this." Miley mumbled, wiping away the tears that were clouding her vision. Miss Haynes was speechless and had no idea that such a young girl could hold so much pain in and try to make it seem like everything was okay.

After a few minutes of silence, Miss Haynes spoke up.

"So that's what that drawing was about on the first day this semester." She said, as Miley nodded, as a single tear fell from her eye.

"I should probably go back to class." Miley said, picking up her book bag and her drawing book, flipping it closed. Miley waited impatiently for Miss Haynes to write her a note, as she left the room without another word. She wiped her eyes on the way to her classroom, as she headed to the English pod. She opened the door, noticing there was 10 minutes left in class.

"Where were you, Miss Stewart?" the old lady, which Miley really hated, asked. Miley didn't answer her, but just handed her the note and then sat down in her assigned seat. Miley didn't pay attention the last ten minutes, as she just prayed that D Block would go by fast.

"Nick, pay attention!" His mother snapped quietly at him, as Nick was drifting during his meeting at the record company. Denise knew exactly why he was so tired. He had been up texting Selena. The only reason she knew this was because he has been doing for about two weeks now.

"Sorry." He mumbled, as he pretended to be listening to his boss.

"Now, Nicholas, you are doing a show in New York in about 2 weeks. You will be flown out there two days before the concert, and you will be there for 5 days. We figured you might want a little break, seeing as you have been very busy lately. Does that sound fine?" he asked, as Nick nodded his head, kind of excited to go to New York. He hadn't been there in a while, and he definitely wanted some good pizza.

"That sounds great." He said, as they started talking about more pointless stuff.

"So, we don't have any PR things for you until your concert, so if you want to, we could try and fly you back early so you can go back to your town." Mr. McDavid said, as Denise got a worried look on her face. She peered over at her son, as he shrugged.

"I don't really care. Whatever my mom wants to do is fine with me." He said, pulling out his phone to see if he had any new messages.

"Um, I think the 5 days will be plenty. Thank you though." She said, standing up, and walking towards the door. We'll be back here before our flight." She said, as Nick followed her out the door. She sighed, as they walked back to the car. She never did tell Nick about Miley having diabetes. He hasn't asked about her since they moved, which has been about a year and a half. Maybe he really did forget about her.

"Hey mom, what do you want to do for lunch?" he asked, putting his phone away.

"Um, I was going to go home and make something. What do you want?" she asked her curly-headed son.

"Um, how about some mashed potatoes and corn and stuff like that. Is it okay if Selena comes over?" he asked, a spark coming into his eye. Denise smiled at her son, and nodded.

"Yes, that's fine." She said, as she started to drive to their house.

"Thank's mom." He said, whipping out his phone and texting her.

Once Selena got to the house, most of the food was already prepared. Nick and Selena went up to his room, as Selena sat down on the computer chair.

"Um, I'm going to take a quick shower. You can get on the computer if you want. I'll be about 10 minutes." He said, grabbing a change of clothes and going into his bathroom. Selena shrugged, getting onto his MacBook. She automatically went to YouTube and signed in. She actually does have a personal YouTube account, but it's private and she doesn't have any friends on it. She decided to search 'Nick Gray' in the search engine. She scrolled through a couple of fan videos and music, and then she saw something interesting. It was Nick in a video, but there was a girl with him.

Intrigued, she clicked on the profile, and saw a picture of Nick and this girl, very close, in the picture. She read the description; finding out this girl's name was Miley. She scrolled through the videos and found one with both of the singing. She clicked on it, turning the volume down just in case Nick might hear.

At first, she just heard Nick, but soon a soft, melodic voice filled her ears, as she saw the girl singing with a spark that most people in the industry don't possess. Once the video finished, she clicked on a video with just Miley. She listened to her closely, realizing she was obviously very talented. She looked in the description to where the location was.

It read 'Woodbridge, Connecticut'. So, Selena was just guessing that it was a close friend of Nick's, or a girlfriend. She knew that Nick was from there, but she decided not to pry. She favorited a video, just so she could keep up with the channel. She logged off and closed out of the window just as Nick came out of the bathroom fully clothed.

"Hey, you ready?" he asked, as she nodded.

"Yep, let's go." She said, smiling at him and then walking downstairs.

"Smells good, Mrs. Gray." Selena said, sitting down at the small dining room table.

"Thank you, Selena." She said, as they began eating the comfort food.

After they ate lunch, Nick and Selena went down in the den to watch a movie and hang out.

"So, I was thinking about flying out to New York when you did your show. I haven't actually seen your perform in front of a large crowd yet. I think it would be fun. Would you mind?" she asked, as they watched the movie.

"No, not at all. That would be fun. You know, you could just fly out with us if you want. We leave about 2 days before the concert, and we're staying about 5 days." He said, as she shook her head.

"My only free day is the day of your concert. I would love to just fly out there with you, but I can't. But I'll fly in the morning of your concert, and I can stay the next day if you want me to." She said, smiling. He smiled back at her.

"That would be great." He said, as they went back to the movie.

A couple days later, Miley was starting at her new job at the local diner, Mike's. It was her first day, but she thought she would be fine. She has known the owner, Mike Danes, forever. She knew everyone in this town, so it should be easy. She tied on her apron and went over to wait tables.

About 2 hours into her shift, the two town gossips came in, blabbing as usual. Nothing they were talking about interested her until she heard the name 'Nick' come up.

"Yeah, I heard that he was having a concert in New York in about a week in and half. I want to go, but I couldn't get tickets. Darn that cute boy and his talent." Said one of them, as Miley pretended not to be listening.

"Yeah, he is so talented, it's a shame that things didn't work out for Mi-" started the other one.

"Sh, she's right there." The other one whispered, as they started talking in hushed tones, so she had no idea what they were talking about now. She saw them keep looking over at her from the corner of her eye, but she pretended to ignore it.

"Hey Miley, how is your first day going so far?" Mr. Danes asked, after setting two orders down on the counter.

"It's going good, I like it here. Thanks for hiring me." She said.

"No problem. You're a good kid and I think you could work here a long time. Now, it's time for your break, so I'll get make you a burger and some fries. Okay?" he asked and she nodded, going and sitting down on the end of the bar.

"Here you go, Miley." He said, setting down a plate with a burger and fries and a vanilla milkshake.

"Thank you." She said, as she started eating slowly. She was about half way done, when she saw Madison and her evil clones walk in, coming over and standing right next to her.

"So, you know I have tickets to little Nicky's concert in about 2 weeks. You all are invited; it's 3rd row center. We'll have a great view of him." She said, as she looked towards Miley.

"Oh, hello Milly, I didn't see you there!" she said, as all of the girls started staring at her. She didn't say anything, as she looked down at her food.

"You know, Mike has really good milkshakes. You know what would make them better?" she asked, lifting it up. I shook my head.

"All over you." She said, dumping it down on my head. They all started laughing, as she got up and ran out of the diner and ran home. She went inside, and ran up the stairs and into her bathroom, slamming the door. She quickly stripped and got into the shower, trying to get everything off of her. She started sobbing as she washed her hair over and over, trying to get the milkshake out of her sticky, knotted hair. She finished her shower, a few tears still falling from her eyes. Her eyes were still red and puffy, as she wrapped herself up in her bath robe. Thankfully, she knew her grandmother wasn't home. She had her bible study tonight, and it didn't end for another two hours.

After she combed out her hair and put it in a bun, she went over and sat down on her bed. She started fiddling with her phone, wanting to call someone. After 30 minutes of deciding, she called the memorized number and waited to hear an answer.

"Hello?" the voice asked.

"Denise, it's Miley, I need to talk to you."

**A/N:**** Haha, I'm mean, I know. Well anyway, review please! Love you all!**


	7. Part 6

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 6

"Denise, it's Miley, I need to talk to you." The young girl said, as there was a long pause on the other line.

"Hello? Denise, are you there?" she asked, as the once motherly-like figure spoke up.

"Hello, how are you?" she asked, as Miley heard shuffling on the other line and a door close.

"I'm good. The only reason I called is that I need a favor." Miley says suddenly.

"Okay, what do you want?" the older woman asked.

"I need a ticket to Nick's concert in New York. I do not care where it's at; I just want to see him perform." Miley said in one breath.

"I don't know if I can . . ." she started.

"I know you have all sorts of strings you can pull. Just please, just this once." The small girl pleaded.

"Okay, I will. I'll have them sent to you." Denise said.

"Thank you, very much." Miley said, about to hang up.

"Wait Miley, how are you doing? Your grandmother told me about your diabetes." Denise said, as Miley gulped.

"Look, I appreciate you doing this for me, but I don't think that I want to talk about anything personal with you, or Nick at all. So, I'm sorry about that. I will not contact you again. Thank you." Miley said, as she hung up. She sighed to herself and realized her grandmother wouldn't be back for another hour. She thought about everything, as she realized she hadn't done a video in a while. She put on a t-shirt and pajama pants, thinking about what song to do. She thought of the perfect song, as she set up her webcam and grabbed her guitar, sitting down on her bed. She turned on the webcam and smiled.

"Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted a video in a while. Well, here it is, finally." She said, as she started to play.

_It's late and I am tired, wish I could spark your smile  
The place is flying high, but right now we're wanted below  
Don't wanna move an inch, let alone a million miles  
And I don't wanna go, but I know I gotta go  
I just want to feel alive_

_The times you don't wanna wake up  
'Cause in your sleep it's never over when you give up  
The sun is always gonna rise up  
You need to get up, gotta keep your head up_

_Look at the people all around you  
The way you feel is something everybody goes through  
Dark out, but you still gotta lie up  
You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up_

_Seems like the more you grow, the more time you spend alone  
Before you know it, you end up perfectly on your own  
The cities shining bright, but you don't see the light  
How come you don't concentrate on things that don't make you feel right  
I just want to feel alright_

_The times you don't wanna wake up  
'Cause in your sleep it's never over when you give up  
The sun is always gonna rise up  
You need to get up, gotta keep your head up_

_Look at the people all around you  
The way you feel is something everybody goes through  
Dark out, but you still gotta lie up  
You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up_

_I'm looking for than a little bit  
I'm gonna have to make my way through it  
Gonna leave a mark, I'm gonna set a spark  
I'm coming off the ground, I won't be coming down_

_The times you don't wanna wake up  
'Cause in your sleep it's never over when you give up  
The sun is always gonna rise up  
You need to get up, gotta keep your head up_

_Look at the people all around you  
The way you feel is something everybody goes through  
Dark out, but you still gotta lie up  
You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up_

Miley smiled with satisfaction, and then turned off the webcam, and saved it. She went to YouTube and uploaded the video, feeling unusually happy. She didn't know what it was, but she thought she was finally getting over the whole Nick situation, and it was a feeling that she liked. A lot.

All the days up to the concert, Nick was starting to get nervous. He didn't even know why. He has had a lot of concerts, but this one, he was even more nervous than his first concert.

"You okay, Nick?" Denise said, walking in the front door. Nick looked up from the couch, slightly confused.

"Where were you? I thought you were upstairs." He said, standing up.

"Oh, I was just mailing something. So what's wrong?" She asked, leaving out the part that it was Miley's ticket.

"I'm just kind of nervous about this concert. I don't even know why, and it's really starting to bug me." He replied, as Denise just stood there.

"Well, honey, you'll do great. You always do, so just go call some friends and have them come over and swim." Denise told him.

"Well, the only person I'm actually friends with so far is Selena." Nick replied.

"Well, ask Selena if she would want to bring that friend of hers; Demi is her name, isn't it?" Denise said, as Nick smiled.

"Okay, I'll go call her." He said, going upstairs to get his phone. Once he got into his room, he grabbed his phone, going to his contacts to 'Selena', dialing the number.

"Hello?" She asked into the phone, chipper as always.

"Hey Sel, its Nick." He said into the phone.

"Oh, hey Nick! What's up? I was just about to hang out with Demi and Joe." She said, as Nick sighed.

"Oh, nothing. Just pretty bored here. What are you guys going to do?" he asked, trying not to sound nosy.

"We never really figured that part out yet." She giggled.

"Well, do you guys want to come over here and swim?" he asked, hoping the answer was a yes.

"Yeah, that would be awesome. Just let me see if they would want to, then I'll text you, okay?" She asked, as Nick nodded, then suddenly felt stupid for nodding into a phone.

"Yeah, okay. Well, hopefully see you later." He said, hanging up. He decided to go ahead and change. He put on his swim shorts and applied some sun-tan lotion. As soon as he finished, he heard his phone buzz. He went over to it, opening the message.

'_We're on our way, be there n 10. cant w8t 2 c ya ;) – Selly'_

His smile brightened, as he grabbed his towel and slid on a muscle shirt. He went out to the back where the pool was. He made sure the tall, wooden white gate door was closed and locked, because most likely the paparazzi would be finding out about them coming over here. He heard a car pull into the driveway and he practically ran to the front door.

"Who is that?" Denise asked.

"Selena, Joe, and Demi." He said, as the doorbell rung. He answered immediately.

"Well jeez, were you just standing right at the door waiting for us?" Selena joked, giving him a hug.

"Ha-ha, no, I was just walking to the couch and I heard it ring, so . . ." he got interrupted by Selena's giggle.

"I was just kidding, Nicholas." She said, as he led them in. He took them out the back, as Demi gasped.

"Dang, this pool is bigger than mine!" she said, as she slid off her cover-up, exposing a hot pink, revealing bikini. He looked over at Joe and practically saw him drooling. Demi jumped in the pool, Joe straight behind her. Selena went over to one of the pool chairs and put her towel out over it, taking off her cover-up. Nick couldn't help but look, as he noticed her wearing a light blue bikini, but not revealing like Demi's. Nick took off his muscle shirt, as Selena lay out on the furniture.

"Want some company?" he asked, as she looked up from her sunglasses and smiled.

"Sure." She replied, as he sat down next to her.

"So, how deep is your pool?" she asked. Nick looked at her for a minute.

"Seriously?" he asked, as she nodded.

"It's like 14ft deep, and the shallow end is about 4 ft." he said, as she nodded. Nick looked into the pool and saw Demi and Joe playing around.

"So, who is 'Joe'?" he asked, as Selena smiled.

"He's on our label. He's really sweet." Selena said, as Nick nodded.

"Are they dating or something?" he asked, as Selena shook her head no.

"No, they aren't, but they are meant to be together." Selena said, as Nick nodded.

"So, do you want to go swim now?" he asked, as she nodded.

"Sure, let's go." She said, taking off her sunglasses. She went over to the steps, as Nick grabbed her arm.

"Jump in." he said, letting go and running to the other side and doing a cannonball into the deep water. Selena rolled her eyes and went down the steps anyway.

"Loser!" Nick yelled, as Selena scoffed.

"I just don't want to get my hair wet!" she yelled over to him as he swam over to her.

"Why?" he asked, as he flicked water at her face.

"Because, it takes forever to dry!" she said, as she turned away from him, walking around the swallow end of the pool. While she wasn't looking, he got the water squirter and filled it up, aiming it at the back of her head. By the time he was done, her entire back, including all of her hair was soaked.

She turned around as she saw Nick put the water squirter back. She glared at him for a moment, before she splashed a huge amount of water onto him.

"You know Selena; it's very rude to splash water on people." Nick said, as Demi and Joe swam over.

"You all want to play chicken?" Demi asked, as Selena smiled evilly.

"Sure." She said, swimming down to the deep end with everyone.

"Go down." Selena demanded playfully, as he went far enough down in the water for Selena to get on his shoulders. As soon as she was on, as painfully pulled up Nick by his hair. Once he was out of the water, he yelped.

"Oops, sorry." She giggled, as they made their way over to where the boys could stand, making Selena and Demi go fully out of the water.

"Oh my god, Selena you are so heavy!" he said, playfully, as she gasped and pulled his hair tighter.

"Okay, this is painful, can we make up?" he asked as she giggled and patted his head.

"Yes, because this is getting ugly." She mocked, as they started playing. Demi and Joe won the first 5 games, because let's face it, Selena isn't the strongest girl.

"Okay, my arms are hurting. I forfeit." Selena said, as Nick went under water so she could slide off. Once she got off, he came up, shaking his curls getting everyone wet.

"Gee thanks Nick." Demi said, as Joe flipped her off his back without warning. Once she came up out of the water, she splashed water on Joe and punched his back.

"That really doesn't hurt anymore Demi, because I have felt it so many times." Joe sneered as Demi pouted and swam to the far wall in the deep end.

"Aw, I'm sorry Demi!" Joe said as he swam to her.

"Jeez, do they ever stop flirting?" Nick asked Selena once Joe was out of ear shot.

"Um, no not really. Everyone who is friends with Joe or Demi knows that they are meant to be. I think even they know, but they are in denial." Selena said, as Nick looked over at her. Selena looked back, seeing him smile at her, and she blushed slightly.

"You want to go to the hot tub?" Nick asked, as Selena nodded. They both got out of the pool, walking about 15 feet to the hot tub. Nick got in, followed by Selena. She sat on the opposite side of him, as she started to relax.

"So, are you excited for your concert?" Selena asked him after a few minutes or peaceful silence.

"Yeah, I guess. You're still coming, right?" he asked her, as she smiled bright.

"Yes, of course! I wouldn't miss it." Selena said, smiling at him.

"Good."

When Miley got home from school that day, the hazing had been the worst it has in the last few months. It had been days since the milkshake accident, and yet Madison still felt the need to tease her about it and then she would bring up Nick around her all day. She went outside, checking the mail. She found a bunch of random coupons and in the middle of everything was a letter from Denise Gray, with no forwarding address. She ran back inside, throwing the entire mall onto the coffee table and running up to her room, closing the door behind her. She sat down on the bed, opening the letter as fast as she could. She saw the ticket first and smiled. She put it down beside and saw a letter inside the envelope. She pulled it out and opened it.

_Dear Miley,_

_Look, I know you might not even look at this, but I hope you do. So, anyway, I just want to let you know how sorry I am about what we did to you. I know that I should have told you about that meeting in LA about a year ago. I really hope you can forgive me. I know it seems like Nick has moved on, but I know that deep down, he really does missing you. I know my son, and he is putting up a front about you to everyone, including himself. I really hope to see you at the concert. I miss you, sweetie. I really do. I love you Miley. You are like my daughter and I hope we can eventually be like we used to be. You are the sweetest girl I have ever met and I know Nick will feel the same when he sees you on Saturday. See you soon, sweetheart._

_Sincerely,_

_Denise_

Miley was in tears as she finished the letter. She really wished Denise could be back in her life like she used to be, but with the whole geographical issue, she knew it would never happen.

Thankfully, she already had a plan on what to tell her grandmother, because she knew that her grandmother would never let her go to New York alone. It also helps that her grandmother has an overnight thing with one of her friends on the same day as the concert. She just told her grandmother that she was going to work until closing, and it would be way too late for her to call when she would be home, so just call the next day.

She was honestly excited about this whole thing. She really just wanted to see him again, even if he wouldn't see her. She really just wanted to make sure she saw Denise and talked to her. She walked downstairs, going into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, getting an apple.

"Grandma?" Miley asked, loudly to try and get her attention. She walked back through the living room, saying her name again. After searching the downstairs, she went upstairs.

"Grandma?" she asked again, going into her grandmother's room. She lingered at the door frame, trying to think of where else she could be. She went into her room, sitting on the bed. She grabbed the home phone, about to dial her number. Right then, the phone rang. She looked at it weirdly, before answering.

"Hello?" Miley answered.

"Hi, is this Miley Stewart?" an unrecognizable voice said through the phone.

"Um, yes who is this?" she asked, very confused.

"We need you to come to the Hartford Medical Hospital, as soon as you can." The man said. Miley froze, as she came up with the courage to go on.

"Why?" Miley asked, with a shaky voice.

"You're grandmother was in a car wreck and it's not good. Please come as soon as you can."

Miley dropped the phone on the ground, as she tried to gather her thoughts. Her parents were in a car wreck. Her parents _died _in a car wreck. This was happening all over again. She grabbed her cell phone, calling a taxi cab. She grabbed her wallet and cell phone as she ran down the stairs. She slid on her shoes and grabbed the house key, going out and locking it behind her.

She stood out by the curb, waiting for the taxi. About 5 minutes later, the taxi cab pulled up. She got in, shutting the door behind her.

"Um, Hartford Medical Hospital, please." Miley said, handing the taxi driver his money. He smiled at her and then drove the 40 minute drive to the nearest hospital. Eventually they pulled up and she jumped out of the car, saying a quick thank you. She ran inside, going to the front desk.

"Um, Marie Stewart please." Miley said to the lady at the front desk. The lady looked at her list.

"Um, she's in the intensive care unit right now, so you can't go in and see her, but it's the 9 floor. Someone will point you to where you need to go, sweetie." The elderly lady said as Miley thanked her, making her way over to the elevator. She went in with about 4 other people. She clicked the 9 button, as four buttons below 9 were pushed. She sighed, as she slowly made her way up to the ninth floor. She went to the desk there and asked for her grandmother.

"You're not allowed to go in right now, but you can go sit in the lobby over there and someone will inform you when you can see her." The young lady said, as Miley nodded, walking over to the waiting room. There was only one other couple in there, so Miley went and sat in the far corner, sitting in the uncomfortable, large hospital chairs. She curled her legs under her, resting the side of her head on her knuckles. She sat there for about 4 hours, before a doctor came over to her.

"Miley Stewart?" the doctor said.

"Yes, how's my grandma?" Miley asked, standing up out of the uncomfortable chair, stretching her limbs.

"I'm afraid that she is in a coma. You can only see her for about 5 minutes and then we need to do more tests." The doctor said, as he led her to the room. She took a deep breath, before she entered. She almost collapsed as she saw the condition her grandma was in. She looked like she had been attacked. Her body looked bruised and battered. Miley slowly walked over to her bed, hoping that she would immediately wake up from this nightmare. She couldn't lose another person, because that would leave her with no one. She grabbed her grandmother's hand, wishing this wasn't her reality.

"Um, sorry to rush you Miss, but we really need to do more tests on her." The doctor said, as Miley nodded leaving the room.

"Is there any other family with you?" the doctor asked Miley, as she shook her head. He sighed, as he went back into the room, closing the door.

Miley went back to her previous position on the chair, waiting for the doctor to come back out of the room. She sat there for what seemed like hours. Finally, the doctor came out of the room, as Miley stood up.

"Do you know anything else?" Miley asked. The doctor shook his head.

"We won't really know anything for a while. You're not allowed to see her tonight, so you might just want to go home. There's nothing you can do hear. I'm sorry." The doctor said, walking away. Miley's knew she should stay, but she really didn't want to sleep here, seeing as she couldn't even go into her grandmother's room. She contemplated everything for a few minutes, and then decided she might as well go home and try to get some sleep. She called the cab company, as she went outside and waited. It was about 2 in the morning, making it pitch black outside. It was sort of eerie. Finally the cab pulled up and she got in. She gave him her address, as she sunk back into her thoughts.

She finally got home, walking up the path to her house. She un-locked the door, walking inside and locking it back. She turned on the light, realizing how when her grandmother isn't here, it's empty. She walked upstairs, going into her room. She went into the bathroom, stripping of her clothes and getting into the shower. She tried to wash this horrible day off of her, but it wasn't going to work. She finally finished, getting out of the shower and wrapping a towel around her body. She changed into her pajamas and went over to her bed, curling her feet under her and sinking into the bed. She let the tear slip from her eye, as she thought about how her life was going right now. It wasn't very promising.

A sob escaped her lips, as she was finally having her meltdown. She cried and cried, hoping that it would make the pain go away. She needed her best friend, and he wasn't here to protect her from the world. She needed him right now, and he wasn't there. She was trying so hard not to resent him again, but right now she wants to hate him. Even though she knows she can't hate him, she wants to. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to believe that everything would be okay.

_**The Day of the Concert**_

Miley's grandmother was still the same. Even though she hadn't gotten better, she hadn't gotten worse either, so Miley was sort of happy about that. She decided to still go to the concert. She slid on a pair of skinny jeans and converse. She slid on a t-shirt and a hoodie-jacket. She grabbed the ticket, stuffing it into her jean pocket along with her phone. She walked out of her house and walked to the bus stop. She waited for about 10 minutes, before the bus pulled up. She got on and went to the back of the bus. She had about a 2 hour bus ride ahead of her, so she put her put her headphones in her ears and decided to drown out everything around her.

Nick arrived at the venue at 1:30. People were already outside waiting, and the concert didn't start until 8. He still hasn't gotten used to that. Once he got inside, he started walking around backstage, checking everything out. He felt like something special would happen tonight. He hoped he had a good concert, but something just felt weird about tonight.

Miley arrived in New York at about 3:45. She decided to just walk to the venue, seeing as it was only about 3 blocks away. She was thinking about texting Nick, but then she started thinking about it. What if he didn't want her there? She didn't want to get all the way there and then be told to leave. She didn't want to be hurting tonight. She just wanted to have fun tonight and listen to her former best friend's music.

She arrived at the venue, getting in line with everyone else. She stood there for what seemed like forever. After waiting forever, people were finally allowed in. She found her seat, sitting down. She was kind of close to the front, in the middle. She decided to text Denise, telling her she was here. A few minutes later, she got a reply.

'_I'm so glad! Do you want me to tell security to allow you back here?'_

'_**No thank you, Denise. I don't think I'm ready to see Nick just yet'**_

'_Okay, well you at least have to come back here while he's performing. I really want to see you, honey'_

'_**I really want to see you too. I'll watch his first song, then you can tell them to let me back there'**_

'_Okay, well he's about to go on. See you in a little while honey'_

Miley smiled, and then saw the lights go out. Everyone started screaming loudly, as music started. Miley closed her eyes, as she stood there, listening to the music. After the first song, Miley left her seat and went into the lobby. She saw a bunch of girls crowding around the security guys, trying to get in. Miley texted Denise and told her to come get her. A few minutes later a security guard came over to her and gave her a pass. Miley held onto it tightly walking through the girls, as she made her way backstage. Denise rushed over to her and gave her a big hug.

"I've missed you so much Miley." Denise said, hugging her tightly. Miley hugged her back.

"Look, I know I said that I didn't want to be in contact with you, but I really miss you. I also really need someone right now." Miley said, as Denise looked at her confused.

"Why? What's going on sweetie?" Denise asked, getting concerned.

"it's just . . . nothing, nevermind. I will tell you later, I just want to try and enjoy tonight and then I'll get back in reality tomorrow." Miley said, giving Denise a weak smile. The older woman nodded, as she led Miley over to the side of the stage. She hid partially behind the curtain, just in case Nick looked over. Denise left to go do something, leaving Miley alone.

"Hello." A girl said behind Miley, as she turned around.

"Hi." Miley said, confused.

"I'm Selena, nice to meet you." Selena said, sticking out her hand. Miley shook it, still wearing the confused expression.

"Um, I'm Miley, nice to meet you too." She replied. There were a few seconds of awkward silence, before Miley spoke up again.

"Not to be rude or anything, but why are you talking to me?" Miley asked, as Selena smiled.

"Because I wanted to meet you." Selena said.

"But you don't even know me." Miley replied, listening to Nick's voice in the background.

"I know. You're Miley Ray Stewart. You live in Connecticut, you're 15 years old, and you're Nick's best friend." Selena said.

"Um, how do you know all that?" Miley asked, hoping that Nick had told her.

"I saw your YouTube. You're really good." Selena said, as Miley's heart dropped. She really did hope that maybe, just sometimes, that Nick still thought about her.

"Um, thank you." Miley replied, turning back around towards the stage.

"Why didn't you sign with Nick?" Selena asked. Miley groaned, as she turned back around.

"Why do you want to know?" Miley asked, trying not to sound too harsh.

"Because I want to know more about you and Nick doesn't say anything, so I figured I'd go to a reliable source." Selena said. Miley sighed, answering her question.

"Because, Mr. McDavid, or whatever the crap his name is, didn't want me. He only wanted Nick." Miley said, as Selena nodded.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think you're amazing. You're voice is spectacular." Selena said, making Miley blush.

"Well, thank you." Miley said.

"When was the last time you talk to him?" Selena asked.

"Almost 2 years." Miley said, her voice faltering.

"Do you miss him?" Selena asked.

"Everyday." Miley said, quietly.

"I think he misses you, too. He just doesn't want to admit it." Selena said, as Miley shook her head violently.

"He doesn't miss me. He's living his dream and he forgot all about me." Miley said, as Selena sighed. She could tell Miley was hurting. She was going to try and fix this.

"After the concert, are you going to do the Meet and Greet?" Selena asked, as Miley shrugged.

"I think you should. Because as soon as he sees you, I know he'll come back to his senses." Selena said. Miley nodded, as Denise walked back over.

"I see you girls met." Denise said, as Miley nodded.

"Okay guys, this is my last song. I hope you all enjoy it." Nick said, as Miley turned to Selena.

"I guess I will go get in the Meet and Greet area." Miley said, not wanting Nick to see her backstage. She left backstage and went and got into a line about 30 people back for the Meet and Greet.

About an hour later, Nick walked out, earning a scream from almost everyone in line. He met with everyone in line, talking to them and taking pictures. It was almost Miley's turn and she was getting nervous. She took the backstage pass off of her neck, just having him sign that. Once it was her turn, she walked up to the table, as she handed him the pass.

"What's your name?" Nick asked, looking up at her, smiling, then looking back down.

"Um, Destiny." Miley said in a small voice. He nodded, signing the pass. He handed it back to her, as he looked up at her again.

"Would you like a picture?" he asked. Miley shook her head and walked away quickly. Nick shrugged and went on the other people in line. Miley went back stage again and up to Denise.

"He doesn't remember me." Miley said, tears in her eyes. Denise's eyes widened, as Selena gasped.

Before any other word was spoken, Miley's phone started beeping. She putting it up to her ear, answering it.

"Hello?" Miley asked, as her eyes widened.

"Oh. My. God."

**A/N:**** DUN DUN DDDDDDDUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNN! Yeah, so sorry about the suckish that is this chapter. I know it's horrible, but it's like 5,000 words or something crazy like that. So anyway, I really won't be surprised it I get hardly any reviews because this chapter is probably the worse thing I have ever written. I have major writers block right now, as you can probably tell. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. Love you all!**

**Erin**_  
_


	8. Part 7

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, except for the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 7

"Oh. My. God."

The slid out from Miley's grip, collapsing onto the floor, breaking into a million tiny pieces.

"Miley, honey, what happened?" Denise asked, getting concerned. Miley looked up at the women with tears in her eyes.

"I have to get home." Miley whispered.

"Well, you shouldn't be out this late by yourself. I'll go with you honey." Denise said, as she started to think up excuses to tell Nick.

"No, Mrs. Grey, you stay here with Nick. I'll go with her. We can take my car. Just tell Nick that a family thing came up, that it's nothing important, but I'll see him back in California, okay." Selena said to Denise, as the older woman nodded.

"Text me when you find something out, honey." Denise said to Miley, as Selena led her out the back, away from all the screaming fans. They hurriedly made their way to her car, as the two teenage girls got in.

"Where do we need to go?" Selena asked Miley.

"Um, the Hartford Medical Center." Miley said, as Selena nodded. She told her driver and then rolled up the separating window.

"Thank you, Selena." Miley said quietly.

"Don't worry about it, Miley. Do you mind telling me what's going on, though?" Selena asked, trying not to seem nosy.

"Um, my grandmother was in a car accident a few days ago, and that was the doctor who just called. Something went wrong with one of the medications they put her on and they said that she doesn't have much time left." Miley whispered.

"I'm sorry, Miley. Are you meeting your parents there or something?" Selena asked. Miley swallowed back a sob, as she regained her composure.

"Um, actually I my parents we're killed when I was young . . . in a car accident." Miley replied, closing her eyes, trying to not cry in front of a girl she just met. She felt Selena rub her arm softly, as Miley calmed down.

"Do you have any other family you can stay with?" Selena asked, as Miley shook her head.

"Where are you going to live?" Selena asked, showering Miley with questions.

"I don't know. But, I really don't feel like talking about this stuff right now." Miley replied as Selena nodded.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry." Selena said, resting her head back against the seat.

"Do you know how much longer?" Miley asked after a long silence.

"Um, hold on." Selena said, as she rolled down the window.

"Steve?" Selena asked.

"Yes, Miss Russo?" Steve asked back.

"How much longer until we get there?" Selena asked him. He looked down at the GPS and then back through the mirror at Selena.

"About 15 minutes Miss Russo." Steve said as Selena nodded.

"Thanks Steve." Selena said, rolling the window back up.

"Selena, I really appreciate it. You really didn't have to." Miley said.

"Miley, seriously, I'm happy to do it. Plus, I'll get to see where Nick lived." Selena said, as the car pulled over. Miley hopped out of the car and ran inside. Selena followed close behind her as they went to the right floor.

"Miss Stewart?" the doctor asked, coming up to Miley.

"Where is she?" Miley asked quickly.

"She's still in her room. She's almost gone. She only has a few minutes, so you can go say goodbye." The doctor said, as Miley looked towards Selena.

"I'll be out here if you need anything." Selena said as Miley nodded, taking a deep breath. As soon as she went in the room, Selena's phone buzzed.

'_Hey, is everything alright with your family? – Nick'_

'_**Yeah, everything's fine. Just a misunderstanding. You did amazing tonight – Sel'**_

'_Thanks'. Did you hear the big Platinum Records news?'_

'_**No . . . what?'**_

'_They fired Josh. They hired some guy named Nathan Gilmore. Apparently he's a lot cooler and a better manager than Josh'_

'_**Good, I NEVER liked Josh; he was always so mean!'**_

'_Yeah, well everyone on the label has a meeting with him in a week. Just thought you should know!'_

'_**Thanks Nick! Well, I gotta go. See you later!'**_

Selena went to her contacts, calling Steve.

"Hello Miss Russo, what can I do for you?" Steve asked.

"Tomorrow morning, do you mind going to Verizon and getting another phone with another number, but it being on my phone plan?" Selena asked.

"No, of course. Any preference?" Steve asked.

"Um, just get the Envy Touch or a Blackberry." Selena said, as she heard screaming coming from Miley's grandmothers rooms. Selena hung up the phone and rushed over to the room, as Miley's grandmother's doctor ran into the room. Selena peered in, hearing the life support machine got flat line. She saw Miley's body collapsed on the floor, sobbing. Selena rushed over to her, helping her up off the floor. Selena led her over to the big chair in the back of the room and let her cry. The doctor looked over with remorse, as Selena looked up from Miley.

"I'm sorry, Miss Stewart." The doctor said, as another sob ripped from Miley's throat. Selena held onto the girl tighter, feeling sorry for the younger girl.

_**The Next Day**_

Selena walked into Miley's room, seeing the girl sitting on her bed, flipping through a photo album.

"Hey Miley, I have a present for you." Selena said, sitting down beside her.

"What?" Miley asked quietly, looking up at Selena. Her eyes were puffy and red as Selena smiled at her.

"Here." Selena said, as she handed the bag to Miley. She opened it up, pulling out an Envy Touch.

"What's this for?" Miley asked.

"Well, your phone is broken, so I thought you might need one. All the payment is on me, so you don't have to worry about that." Selena said, as Miley gave her a tight hug.

"Thank you Selena." Miley said, as Selena got her phone out of her pocket, dropping it down on the bed.

"Now, I don't know what friends you had in there, but I'm sure you can get them back. I put my number in there, and I put Mrs. Gray's. Now, I put Nick's in there." Selena said, as Miley nodded.

"Well, at least I won't have to put any numbers in there." Miley said, as she kept looking through the photo album.

"What do you mean?" Selena asked. Miley sighed, as she looked up from the album.

"I'm not exactly the popular girl in school. Nick was actually my only friend. He was like my brother, but it's not like that anymore." Miley said.

"So, Nick was your only friend and he left you?" Selena asked, kind of disgusted in Nick.

"Yeah, but it's whatever." Miley said, not really wanting to talk about it.

"Well, now you have one more friend." Selena said, as Miley smiled. She gave her another hug, as Selena started looking at the pictures.

"Do you have any pictures of Nick as a kid?" Selena asked, as Miley nodded.

"Yeah, a ton." Miley said, as Selena smiled.

"I wanna see!" Selena said, as Miley handed her the book.

"Hey Miley, can I ask you a question?" Selena asked, as they were watching a movie.

"Yeah, what?" Miley asked.

"How are you doing?" Selena asked.

"Better than yesterday." Miley replied, as Selena nodded.

"Okay, well I have to go back to LA tomorrow. You text me if you need anything, okay?" Selena said, as I nodded.

"I really appreciate you, Selena. You've been a great help through everything," Miley started, "but I do have one question."

"What?" Selena asked.

"Can you please not mention anything about me to Nick? I don't want him to know." Miley said, as Selena agreed.

"Yes, of course." She said, as she noticed something odd poking out from Miley's shirt.

"What's that?" the curious girl asked, as Miley stared down at her fingers for a moment.

"I have diabetes, and it helps me control my sugar levels." Miley said, as Selena looked at her blankly.

"Does . . . does Nick know?" Selena asked, as Miley shook her head furiously.

"No, he doesn't know, and I don't want him to know. Denise knows, but Nick has no idea." Miley said, answering her question.

"Are you sure you don't even want me to mention you to him?" Selena asked me once more, making sure this is what I wanted. I nodded slowly.

"I don't want him to have to worry about me. He should be focusing on his career right now, Selena." Miley replied, choosing her words carefully. Even though she was very thankful for what Selena had done for her the past 2 days, it doesn't mean that she should admit all her deepest and darkest secrets to her. Even though Nick knows almost all of them, she doesn't know if Selena will be feeding all of this back into Nick's ear when she gets home.

"Okay, whatever you say. Well, I guess I'm going to go back to my hotel. I'll check in on you tomorrow before I leave, okay?" Selena asked her, as the younger girl nodded, as she started playing with her new phone.

"Okay, thank you very much Selena, for everything." Miley said, grateful.

"It was no problem." Selena said, smiling. She left the quaint house, as Miley realized she was now going to be living alone. She went down stairs, sitting down on the couch. Everything around her was eerily quiet. This is how things are going to be from now on.

Nick walked into the management office for Platinum Records, arriving a little bit early for the mandatory meeting. When he got into the large room, he saw several artists already there. He saw Selena sitting at the far end of the table, chatting and giggling. He walked over there, sitting next to Selena.

"Hey stranger." Nick said, as she smiled at him.

"Why hello there Nicholas. Are you excited to meet the label president?" she asked him, clasping her hands together under the table.

"Yeah, I guess. I hope he is nicer than Josh. I mean, Josh wasn't mean or anything, he just didn't always look like the label president. He seemed more like a roadie and fan with us. It was kind of weird." Nick explained, as all of the artists piled in. A few minutes later, a middle-aged man, wearing a very nice suit, walked in and went over to the head of the table.

"Hello everyone, my name is Nathan Gilmore. I am your new label president. Now, obviously I am replacing Josh, but some of you may not know why. The only thing that I am allowed to tell you is that he was fired for harassing some of the employees. So, I am here to hopefully turn around this company. We will have a few new artists come, but you all with definitely not be forgotten. I am meeting with a few people over the next couple of weeks. I hope to make a good president, and I hope I have made a good impression. Now, you all are free to leave. Thank you all very much." Mr. Gilmore said, as everyone stood up, gathering their belongings.

"Hey, I'll meet you guys out in the lobby. We can go to lunch or something. Just let me go get something real quick." Selena said to Nick and Demi, as everyone cleared out of the room.

"Mr. Gilmore?" Selena asked, as he was on his laptop.

"Yes Miss Russo?" he asked, looking up from whatever he was doing.

"I noticed how you said you were going to be signing new people, and I was wondering if I could show you one of my friend's; Miley. She's really talented and I think she deserves to be on this label. He looked up at Selena and then smiled.

"I guess, sure. Do you have any videos with you?" he asked.

"No, but she has a YouTube channel." She said, going over to his laptop and going to YouTube and going to her channel.

"Is that Nick?" he questioned.

"Yes, it's a long story, but I think you should just listen to her. She's amazing." Selena said, playing a solo video. She watched him intently. She was trying to figure out his expressions. With Josh, she could read him like a book. She knew when he loved an artist, and when he didn't. The video finished, as Mr. Gilmore smiled.

"She definitely does have raw talent. Do you think you could arrange for her to come here and meet with me?" He asked her.

"Yes, I'm sure I could arrange that. Do you know when you would like the meeting?" Selena asked politely.

"Um, how about in 4 days, at noon. Would that work?" He asked, Selena nodded.

"That's perfect! Thank you so much!" Selena said, clapping. She resisted the urge to hug him, realizing that would be very unprofessional. Selena walked out of the room, smiling wide.

"What's up with you?" Demi asked, as Nick wondered the same thing.

"Nothing, just happy about Mr. Gilmore. He seems a lot nicer than Mr. McDavid was." Selena said, as they walked to the elevator.

"Where should we go to eat?" Nick asked, listening to the annoying elevator music.

"It doesn't matter."

Miley hugged her jacket closer to her, as she looked around at the town she has called her home for 15 years. She ran over to the gazebo, as it started raining. She looked around, noticing people heading for indoors, and pulling out their rain gear. She brushed the hair out of her eyes, wondering why everything turned out the way it did. She was brought out of her thoughts, as she felt her new phone buzz in her jacket pocket.

'_Hey, just to let you know, you are being flown out to LA in 3 days. Pack for overnight. See ya!' – Selena_

Wait, what? Right as she was about to answer, her phone started ringing.

"Why am I being flown out to LA?" Miley asked, as Selena giggled threw the phone.

"Because, you have a meeting with the president of Platinum Records." Selena said as if it was no big deal.

"Okay, but I thought that he didn't want me." Miley said, still very confused.

"Yes, well he got fired and now we have a new label president. I showed him your videos and he's in love with your voice! I haven't told anyone that you're coming out here. You can stay at my house." Selena said, piling it all on at once.

"Wow." Miley whispered, as Selena giggled.

"So, I'll fly out in two days and then we'll leave the next day. See you in a couple days!" Selena said, excited.

"Um, yeah, see you." Miley replied, hanging up.

_**3 Days Later**_

"Are you packed?" Selena asked, walking out of the bathroom. I nodded, picking up my duffle bag.

"Okay, let's go!" Selena said, walking out of Miley's room, down the steps.

"Okay, I have a question." Miley said, as Selena threw Miley's duffle bag in the trunk and went into the car.

"What?" Selena said, turning on the radio.

"What are you going to do if Nick wants to hang out with you while I'm staying at your house?" Miley asked.

"I'll just tell him I have family in town. It will be fine, Miley, I promise." Selena said, smiling. Miley nodded, hoping to avoid Nick at all costs.

Miley's hands started shaking as she was sitting with Selena outside of the president's office. Selena sighed and clasped her hands around Miley's.

"Sweetie, you will do fine. You're an amazing singer and you are going to do great." Selena said, trying to calm the girl down.

"What if I forget the words?" Miley asked, frantically.

"Listen, you played me the song twice yesterday and once today before we came. You know the words. You're a natural. So, just pretend it's me in there; ignore Mr. Gilmore. You'll do fine." Selena said, as Miley smiled up at her.

"You really are a great friend, Selena." Miley replied, hugging the girl tightly. The smiled at each other, just as Mr. Gilmore walked out.

"Hello Miss Russo and Miss Stewart." He said, as the girls nodded.

"Are you going in with her, Miss Russo?" Mr. Gilmore asked, as Selena nodded and smiled encouragingly at Miley.

"Well, let's get too it!" he replied, ushering the girls into his office, shutting the door behind him.

Miley finished the last bar, staring in Selena's direction the whole time. She looked over to Mr. Gilmore and he had a blank expression on his face. After a few seconds, he smiled wide.

"Well, I guess we know what song you'll be singing at the party!" He replied, as Selena squealed.

"What? What does that mean?" Miley asked, very confused.

"It means you're on the label!" Selena yelled happily, as tears of joy sprang from Miley's eyes, as she held onto Selena tightly.

"Thank you." Miley whispered into Selena's ear. She giggled, hugging her tighter.

"Okay, now, I know you all around wondering, why I made this impromptu meeting, well I have some great news!" Mr. Gilmore said, as everyone looked at each other.

"We're going on tour?" Demi questioned.

"No, well it's been talked about, but that's not it!" He said, as Selena squealed.

"What's up with you?" Nick asked, as Selena bit her lip.

"Nick, whatever you do, don't be mean. I know for a fact, you were a jerk to her the last time you too talked, so don't say anything mean!" Selena lectured.

"Okay, fine, but who are you even talking about?" Nick asked, as Mr. Gilmore smiled.

"Alright, come on in!" he yelled, as the door open, and there walked in the newest member or the Platinum Records family.

"Welcome Miss Miley Stewart!"

**A/N:**_**IMPORTANT!: I have band camp for the next two weeks from 9AM-9PM and then I start school. So, honestly, I wouldn't expect an update for at least two weeks! I'm very sorry, but I can't do anything. I'll try to get the next update as soon as possible!**_

**Anyway, I just love leaving cliffhangers! Well, anyways, I hope you like the chapter! I tried to make it as long as possible, but I figured since I haven't updated in almost two weeks, that I should just post what I got done. But, how do you think Nick will react? Let me know in the reviews! I love all you guys!**


	9. Part 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything except for the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 8

"_Welcome Miss Miley Stewart!" _

The 'new' girl timidly walked in, as she immediately searched for Nick. She looked straight into his eyes, knowing that she could read his eyes like a book. She saw mixed emotions, but she saw no happiness; it was all just sort of cold.

Miley slowly walked over to Mr. Gilmore, as he smiled at her.

"Well, why don't you introduce yourself?" He pushed, as she nodded.

"Um, well my name is Miley Stew-Stewart. I'm from Connecticut. I love to sing and dance, obviously, but I really love to draw. Um, I'm really excited to work with all of you guys. I know it will be fun." She said, timid. Her voice was small, and she didn't really know how to act. She wasn't star-struck; it was just that she didn't want to come on too strong.

"Now, I want all of you to introduce yourselves and make her feel welcome." Mr. Gilmore said, leaving the room. Miley still stood up in the front, not sure what to do.

"Miley, come over here." Selena said, as Miley slowly walked over to her group; consisting of Demi, Joe, and _Nick_.

"Demi, Joe, this is Miley; I met her about a week ago. Miley, this is my best friend Demi, and my annoying friend Joe." Selena greeted, introducing everyone.

"Um, aren't you going to introduce Nick?" Joe asked, as Selena shook her head.

"How about we three go get some food; see you later guys!" Selena set up, ushering Demi and Joe away. The two teenagers were quiet for a minute, until someone broke the ice.

"Um, it's nice to see you again." Miley said, very quiet. If Nick hadn't been so used to that, he wouldn't have known what she said.

"Why are you here?" Nick asked, not angry; but not nice either.

"Because, I need to start over and Selena set this interview up with Mr. Gilmore for me and he really like me, so here I am." Miley said, trying not to sound too harsh.

"You seriously couldn't let me have one thing? Everything I ever did before this was for you. I always protected you. I was always there for you. It was always about you. Now, that I try to do something for me, you can't seem to let go, so you have to become my responsibility again." Nick ranted, as Miley closed her eyes and sighed.

"Listen, Nick. I did not come here for you to babysit me. I can take care of myself. I just wanted to start over, okay. So, please just stop." Miley warned, as Nick rolled his eyes.

"I really hope that's true. You know I will always care about you, but I just don't want to deal with all your baggage anymore." Nick said, walking away. Miley rubbed her temples, as she saw Nick walk towards Selena, as they started bickering. Miley leaned back against the table, as two girls walked over to her.

"Hello there." The blonde one said, as the brunette smiled.

"Hi." Miley mumbled, obviously in a bad mood.

"Um, I'm Ashley and this is Vanessa." They introduced as Miley tried to sound excited.

"Oh, it's really nice to meet you. I'm a big fan." Miley said, just wanting to leave. Although, where would she leave to?

"I can't wait to hear you sing at the party. It seems like you're really good, by the way Mr. Gilmore is acting." Ashley said, as Miley giggled.

"Well, thank you, I appreciate that." Miley answered, as she saw Selena waving at her from the doorway.

"Well, it was nice meeting the both of you, but I have to go." Miley said, as Vanessa stopped her.

"Wait, do you want our numbers? Maybe we could hang out later." Vanessa wondered, as she nodded.

"Yeah, that would be great." Miley said, as the three girls pulled out their phones. They exchanged numbers, as Selena kept on waving her over.

"Well, I'll talk to you guys later." Miley said to her two new friends, as she rushed over to Selena.

"What is it?" Miley asked, putting her phone away.

"You are going with us to lunch! Come on!" Selena replied, dragging Miley along before she could say anything.

"Will Nick be there?" Miley asked, as Selena pulled her outside. Miley said her car there, as Selena opened the door, pushing her in the car.

"Graceful." Nick muttered, as Miley glared at Selena, talking a seat.

"Thank you." Miley shot back, as Selena rolled her eyes, slamming the door shut.

"Where are we going anyway?" Nick asked, as Selena smiled.

"We are going to Five Guys and then to Pinkberry." Selena said, as Nick smiled.

"Great, well let's go." Nick said, as the car started.

Once they got there, Miley went and sat down at a table for 6. Selena was about to walk over to her, but Nick stopped her.

"I'll go." Nick said, as he walked over to her.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Nick asked, as Miley shook her head.

"Why not?" Nick asked. Miley shrugged.

"I don't have any money." Miley answered, as Nick gently pulled her up.

"I'll pay for yours. I don't mind." Nick offered, as Miley sighed.

"Thank you, I guess." Miley said, walking over to the line with Nick.

"What do you want?" Nick asked.

"Um, I'll have a—" she started, but then got interrupted.

"Never mind, I know what you want." He said, as she smiled. He ordered for the both of them. They got their food and then went over to the table, sitting across from each other. He handed her the food as everyone started talking.

"So, Miley, what's your story?" Demi asked, as Miley looked up from her meal, as everyone stared at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, as Demi started to elaborate.

"Well, for starters, where are you from?" Demi asked.

"I'm actually from a small town, outside of Hartford, Connecticut." Miley said, popping a fry in her mouth.

"That's cool. Hey Nick, didn't you say you were from some town around there?" Joe asked as Nick grimaced.

"Um, yeah, somewhere around there." Nick said, as Demi continued.

"Are you a good singer?" she asked.

"Um, I suppose so. I don't really like to judge my singing, though." Miley replied.

"Awesome, well are your parents here with you?" Demi asked, as tears began to cloud her vision.

"Um, no, they aren't." Miley said, as Demi continued to pepper her with questions.

"Well, are they coming?" she asked.

"No, they can't." Miley said, deciding it was better to be strong, then to break down in front of people she just met.

"Why not?" Demi pried.

"Demi, give the girl some room. You're like harassing her!" Selena said, giggling; trying to cover up the fact that it was a sad situation. Miley silently thanked her, as they continued to eat. Miley occasionally looked across the table and every time Nick would be looking at her. It was not in a creepy way, but more in a concerned way.

"Are you guys ready to go to Pinkberry?" Selena asked, as everyone nodded. They drove to get their frozen yogurt and then finally Selena started dropping people off. Demi and Joe went first, leaving the three of them in the car. Selena pulled up to Nick's house, as he opened the door, about to get out.

"Wait!" Miley said, as Nick turned back to her.

"Can I go see your mom?" Miley asked, as Nick thought about it for a minute. He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess." He said, stepping out of the car.

"I'll call you later." Miley said to Selena, getting out and walking with Nick to the front door. Nick opened the front door, they walked in.

"Um, mom, we have a visitor!" Nick yelled, wondering where his mom was.

"Who is it honey?" she yelled from the kitchen.

"Um, I think you should see for yourself." Nick said, walking over to the couch and falling back into it.

"Well, who is it?" Denise asked, walking out of the kitchen. She looked up, seeing Miley standing there smiling.

"Oh my goodness!" she yelled, running over and hugging the girl tightly. Even though she had just seen her days before, she was just so used to seeing Miley every day, that she was ecstatic to see her again.

The both of them walked over to the other couch, sitting down on it.

"Okay, now honey why are you here? Does it have something to do with Ma—" Denise started, getting cut off by Miley.

"I have exciting news!" Miley said, not wanting Nick to know of her deceased grandmother.

"What is it?" Denise asked.

"I'm on the label!" Miley screamed, as Denise's eyes widened and shrieked with her.

"Oh my gosh, that is so amazing, sweetie!" She said, kissing the girls forehead.

"Yeah, I'm still kind of processing. It all happened so fast." Miley said, as she said Nick looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, where are you staying?" Denise asked.

"Well, most of my things are still at my house, but I have some clothes at Selena's." Miley replied.

"Okay, well we'll go back to Connecticut and get all your things and then you'll move in with us!" Denise said, as Miley's eyes widened. Nick started choking on lord knows what.

"Um, no that's fine. Selena said I could just live with her for a while." Miley said, not knowing if she could handle seeing Nick every day.

"Nonsense! Of course you are going to move in here." Denise forced, as Miley smiled.

"Okay, that's fine." Miley said, giving up.

"Great, Nick, give Miley a tour around the house! I'm going to make a special dinner!" Denise said, going into the kitchen to prepare. Miley sighed, as Nick got up off the couch.

"Nice going." Nick muttered, as he started walking up the steps. Miley remained silent, not willing to step up to him. She followed him, as he made his way to the top of the spiral staircase.

"Okay, that is my mom's room. That is my room." He said, pointing. He looked around at the other rooms and then leaned over the rail.

"Mom! Which room is Miley's?" He yelled as she popped her head out of the kitchen.

"The one next to yours." She yelled back, as Nick groaned.

"What?" Miley asked, rather loudly. Nick looked kind of shocked, but shook it off.

"It's two rooms conjoined by a bathroom." Nick said, as Miley groaned.

"Great." She murmured, as he led her to the room next to his. He opened the door, as she gasped at the size of it. It was bigger than her living room at her house. There were large windows, each of them possessing a window seat. The king size bed was up against the wall, as rugs, chairs, and dressers furnished the room. She also noticed a door to outside, which led to a small deck.

"Geez, is your room this big?" Miley asked quietly, as Nick nodded.

"Yeah." He replied, as he walked over to a door.

"This is your closet." Nick said, sliding the door back. Good god. The closet was huge.

"I don't think I own this many clothes." Miley replied, smoothing out the knee length skirt she was wearing. Nick noticed her outfit and smiled. She really was the same old Miley.

"Trust me, you go shopping with Demi and Selena, it will fill up quick." Nick said, walking over to another door.

"This is the bathroom." He said, opening the door. It was a very big bathroom. It had two showers and a huge bath tub.

"Um, this shower is yours, and that's your sink." He said, pointing the marble cover sink and the glass shower.

"Awesome." Miley replied, as she walked back into your room.

"Oh, and here's your TV." He said, grabbing the universal remote and hitting a button, making the TV come out from the piece of furniture at the end of the bed.

"Jeez." Miley muttered, as she tried to jump up on the bed. The top of the bed reached above her waist, so it was difficult for her. Nick laughed, as he went over and pulled out a step stool from under the bed.

"Oh, thanks." Miley replied, blushing. She hopped up, as she dangled her legs from the side of the bed.

"Do you want to see the rest of the house?" Nick asked, as Miley nodded, getting off the bed. They walked out of her room, going out into the hallway. He then led her over a door at the very end of the hall. He opened it, and there was a small set of spiral stairs. He led her up, turning on the lights. Miley's eyes widened, as she looked at everything.

"Holy crap." She said, as Nick led her around. Up here was like a getaway place. There were walls lined with bookshelves and a bunch of furnishings. There were soft lights, as Miley walked around. The walls were covered in different pictures. She looked around and smiled.

"What else is there?" Miley asked, as Nick smiled. Eventually, he finished showing her the indoor/outdoor pool, the den, and Miley's personal favorite; the art studio.

"So, that's about it." Nick said, as they got back to Miley's room.

"You must love it here." Miley said, as she noticed a piano in the corner of the room. She smiled, as she walked over to her bed, getting up on it again.

"Well, I'm going to go. See you in a little while." Nick said, walking to the bathroom and into his room.

**A few days later**

Denise, Miley, and Nick had just gotten back from Connecticut to get all of Miley's things. Thankfully, Nick didn't ask about Miley's grandmother. She wasn't ready to tell him yet.

Miley just finished putting her clothes away, when he phone rang from her desk. She hurried over to it, seeing it was Selena.

"Hey Sel." Miley said, using the nickname Selena told her to call her. Miley and Selena have become very close lately, which was a good thing.

"Hey girly. Are you excited for the party tonight?" Selena asked, referring to the party where Miley would have to sing in front of all the people on Platinum Records.

"Um, yeah I guess." Miley said.

"Now, no offense, but I think you, me, and Demi should go shopping for something for you to wear tonight." Selena said, as Miley giggled.

"Okay, when do you want to pick me up?" she asked.

"We'll be there in about 10 minutes!" Selena said, hanging up. Miley sighed, walking into the bathroom. She fixed her mess of curls, and pinned some back. She smoothed out her t-shirt and slid on her converse. She grabbed her purse and walked downstairs, seeing Denise in the living.

"Hey honey, where are you going?" Denise asked.

"I'm going shopping with Demi and Selena." She said, grinning.

"Do you have any money?" she asked.

"Some." Miley replied, hearing a horn honking outside. Denise pulled out her wallet, handing her the debt card.

"Seriously?" Miley asked, as the older woman nodded. Miley tackled her a hug and the ran out of the house.

"Thank you!" she yelled back, hopping in the back seat of Demi's car.

"Hey guys." She said, as they said their hellos. Soon enough, Demi drove up to Forever21. They got out of the car and started to shop.

"So, Miley what do you want to wear tonight?" Demi asked, as Miley shrugged.

"I honestly have no idea. I want it to be simple, but not cheap." Miley informed, as the two 'shopping genius' smiled.

"Well, let's get to shopping!" Selena said, linking arms with the two girls. They walked into the large store, as they started making their way through the store.

"Hey Miley." Demi said, walking over to Miley. They were looking through racks of clothes, while Selena was upfront looking at all the jewelry.

"Yeah?" Miley asked, adding a shirt to the clothes she had hanging over her arm.

"I'm sorry I brought up your parents the other day." Demi said, quietly. Miley gulped, as she turned to face Demi.

"Who told you?" Miley asked, automatically assuming Nick. She wasn't mad; she just really hated talking about it.

"Selena; but Miley, please don't be mad at her. It just slipped. She wanted to know what I thought about you and I asked her why you were acting so weird. Look, I didn't mean to talk about all of that. I really am sorry." Demi regretted, as Miley smiled softly.

"You had no idea. It's not your fault. But, I appreciate it. Thank you." Miley said, as she headed over to the dressing rooms, seeing Selena run up with jewelry dangling from her arms.

"Goodness Selena, got enough jewelry?" Miley asked, as Selena got her a dressing room and shoved her in.

"Try on everything! And try not to take forever!" Selena said, sliding the curtain back, as Demi and Selena fell back onto the plush couch outside of Miley's dressing room.

"Are you almost done?" Selena asked, getting impatient.

"Hold on!" Miley said, as she slowly peeled back the curtain.

"Well, don't you look amazing!" Demi said, as Miley twirled around, her skirt flowing.

"You don't think it's too short?" Miley asked, not really sure about the length of the skirt.

"Mile, chill; it looks great and plus there are shorts under it. It's fine." Selena said, as Miley nodded.

"Okay, I'll get it." Miley said, going back into the changing room. She changed back into her clothes and folded the clothes she was buying. She threw back the curtain and threw the pile of clothes at Selena.

"Those are the ones I don't want." She said, her jewelry and clothes in hand.

"Why do I have them?" She asked, as Miley shrugged and giggled.

"I don't know." She said, walking out of the changing rooms and going over to the register.

"Is this all for you today?" the young girls asked, as Miley nodded. She pulled out Denise's credit card, as she rung everything up.

"Okay, your total is $98.23." she said, as Miley paid for her things.

"Have a great day." She said, as Miley took her belongings, as Selena and Demi walked over and started to pay for their things.

"Um, Hi Miss Russo and Miss Torres." The girl said, star struck.

"Where do you want to go after this?" Miley asked, as the best friends shrugged.

"Let's go back to your house, or Nick's, or whatever." Selena replied, making the cashier squeal. Demi gave her a weird look, as she regained her composure.

"Sorry, it's just I love Nick Grey! He is super talented!" She said, folding Demi's clothes and putting them into her bag.

"Yeah, he's a nice guy." Demi said, trying not to sound too mean.

"Thank you all for shopping with us today." She said, giving an over-enthusiastic wave. Demi rolled her eyes once they got out of the store.

"Jeez." She muttered, as we got to Demi's car. She threw her bags in the back seat with Miley and got in the driver's side.

"Well that was interesting." Miley murmured, as Selena giggled.

"Trust me; once you get as popular as Nick, Demi, etc, there is a lot of that." Selena said, as Demi drove to Nick's house.

"So, how do you like living there?" Demi asked.

"It's good. I love my room. And the house is awesome." Miley said, as they got up to the gate. She typed in the code, as the gate opened. Everyone grabbed their bags and walked in the front door.

"Hey honey!" Denise said, greeting Miley with a warm hug.

"Hello Selena, Demi." Denise added, as the two girls smiled back.

"Let me see what you got!" Denise said, as she led the girls over to the couch. Miley handed Denise her card back once she sat down.

"Thank you." She said, as Miley pulled everything out of her bag. She showed Denise the mid calf length black and yellow plaid skirt and the black shorts that go under it. She grabbed the gray short sleeve shirt she got and the white undershirt. She showed her the new matching yellow converse and all her jewelry.

"Is this what you're going to wear tonight?" Denise asked, smiling.

"Yeah." Miley said, quietly. She smiled softly, as Denise stood up.

"Well, you all can go up to Miley's room and I'll bring up some snacks in a little while." Denise said, kissing Miley's forehead as the girls got up.

"Thanks." Miley whispered, as they went upstairs. They got to Miley's room, as they walked.

"Holy freaking crap." Demi said, as she ran and jumped up on the bed. Well, that's one way to do it.

"This room is amazing!" Selena said, as she went over to the window seat, falling down on the fluffy cushions.

"Yeah, I like it." I said, going over and shutting the door to my bathroom. I climbed up on the huge bed, sitting next to Demi. Miley grabbed a stack of magazines, as they started flipping through them.

"Isn't it weird seeing all the negative and false things about you in magazines?" Miley asked her voice barely audible.

"Yeah, at first it was. But, I know what's true and hopefully my friends know me well enough to believe me, so I just ignore it." Demi said, as Selena nodded.

"Yeah, it's just you have to trust the people around you. You have to be careful about who your friends are. I mean, every on Platinum Records has had something bad said about that. I mean, I trust every single person on our label. I mean, obviously, don't tell your deepest, darkest secret to someone you just met, but I mean, you could obviously tell Nick." Selena elaborated.

"Yeah, I guess." Miley said, pulling out a random magazine from the stack.

Miley got out of Demi's car, her outfit in a bag. Her skinny jeans clung to her hips, as people started snapping photos, waiting for someone they actually knew to step out of the car. Miley rolled my eyes behind my sunglasses, as Selena and Demi hurried out of the car. The best friends linked arms, as the paparazzi shoved cameras in the girl's faces. Miley was in the middle, as everyone completely ignored her.

_Well, I might enjoy while I can._ She thought. Soon enough, people would be shoving cameras and microphones in her face, wanting to know everything about her. She let out a breath of relief they entered the security-covered building.

"Is that going to happen to me one day?" Miley asked, as she saw Nick over with Joe.

"Honestly, yes. It's difficult sometimes, but it's not that bad mostly." Demi said, guiding her through the world of Hollywood.

"What time do I perform?" Miley asked, her hands clammy.

"Um, well its 6:30 and you go on at 8:20. First, its Nick, then Demi, then Joe, the Ashley, then Vanessa, then me, and then you're on." Selena said, as everyone started going into their marked dressing rooms. There were a lot of label people out in the crowd. Miley gulped, as she went into her dressing room, locking the door behind her. She quickly changed into her performance outfit and then grabbed her cell phone, sinking back into the couch. She went to Selena's name and sent her a text.

'_Please come in here!'_

Miley felt her arm start shaking, as she got a reply.

'_Aww, honey, I can't right now. What's wrong?'_

'_I CAN'T DO THIS!'_

'_Hold on, honey, I'll send Demi in'_

Miley dropped her phone on the floor, as her other hand started shaking. There was a gentle knock on the door, as Miley slowly walked over to the door and opened it. Demi hurried in and shut the door behind her, leading her back to the couch. Demi sat right beside and put her arm around her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she comforted.

"I can't do this!" Miley whispered, as Demi held her arm to keep it from shaking violently.

"Why not?" Demi asked softly, as she brushed Miley's hair out of her face.

"Because, I'm going to mess up! And I know I can't perform in front of Nick! I just can't do it! I'm going to make a fool of myself and then I'm going to get kicked off the label and then I'm going to have to move back to Connecticut and then I'm never going to go anywhere!" Miley rambled, as Demi stopped her.

"Miley, sweetie, calm down. Selena showed me some of your videos. You are amazing. You are going to do great. Everything will be fine." Demi comforted. Miley took a deep breath, smiling up at Demi.

"Thanks Demi. You were a really big help." Miley said, hugging her.

Selena had just preformed and Miley was about to go out in front of about one hundred people and sing a song she wrote about Nick. She smiled at everyone and then ran down off the stage into the crowd. The lights on the stage dimmed and the stage was completely dark. She walked out and stood in front of the microphone. Everyone was chatting and then my new band started playing the music. Everyone got quiet, as the spotlight hit me. I shut my eyes and started singing, pretending it was just me singing in front of the webcam.

_The city of angels is lonely at night  
Keep myself alight by candlelight  
So she can love you like I do  
Look me in the eyes and say it's true  
I ask myself is this love at all  
When I need you most you let me fall  
I'm always here at the side of your stage  
Let you live your life, pretend I'm okay  
I'll be okay  
I'll hold you close you'll stay forever_

_I, I don't understand why you're leaving me  
I, I don't understand how without you I can't breathe  
Please don't, don't leave me here  
Take my hand, I'll plead in tears  
I don't understand why you can't take me with you_

_You can pretend I don't exist  
But you'll see my face every time you kiss  
I hope you hurt and your walls fall down  
When you hear the sound that I'm okay  
I'll be okay  
You can't hold me down, I won't stay forever_

_I, I don't understand why you're leaving me  
I, I don't understand how without you I can't breathe  
Please don't, don't leave me here  
Take my hand, I'll plead in tears  
I don't understand why you can't take me with you_

_I watched you leave  
Walk away tonight  
And I'm letting go for the last time  
And through the tears I say goodbye  
So breathe in, breathe in, breathe in, breathe out_

_I, I don't understand why you're leaving me  
I, I don't understand how without you I can't breathe  
Please don't, don't leave me here  
Take my hand, I'll plead in tears  
I don't understand why you can't take me with you_

_Don't leave me here  
Please don't leave me here_

_I, I don't understand how without you I can't breathe  
Please don't, don't leave me here  
Take my hand, I'll plead in tears  
I don't understand why you can't take me with you_

Miley let out a sigh of relief when she heard people clapping. She opened her eyes, landing straight on Nick. His eyes were cold, but there was a glimmer of pride. She looked into Denise's and hers held happiness. She searched the crowd for Demi and Selena, who were clapping loudly and cheering. She smiled and bowed; running off the stage to Demi and Selena. Miley jumped into their arms, as they hugged her tightly.

"Oh my god Miley, you were amazing!" Selena squealed, as Miley whispered special thanks into Demi's ear. Demi nodded and smiled, as Miley let go of them, running over to Denise.

"Honey, you did great! I'm so proud of you!" She said, hugging the girl tightly. Miley smiled, as she turned to Nick. He looked her straight in the eye, as Denise knew it was time to give them some privacy. Nick grabbed her wrist and dragged her to a separate room in the building. He folded his arms across his chest, as Miley felt small.

"We need to talk."

**A/N:**** I just love doing that :D. I hope you all like this chapter! Please review and tell me what you think! I appreciate every one of your reviews! Thank you guys!**


	10. Part 9

**Disclaimer: ** I own nothing except for the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 9

"_We need to talk."_

Miley's eyes darted across the empty room, as she finally glanced back towards Nick.

"About what?" Miley replied, timidly. She really didn't want Nick mad at her. It was the last thing she wanted.

"Why in the world would you go and sing a song about me! I mean, seriously Miley, be a little bit more dramatic!" Nick spat, his voice getting dangerously close to a yell. Miley closed her eyes for a moment, processing.

"Listen, Nick, I know you are mad at me, but—"

"Well of course I'm mad!" he interjected, rolling his eyes.

"But, I didn't have a choice! Mr. Gilmore wanted me to sing that song tonight because that is the song I sang for him when I got put on the label." Miley defended, as Nick scoffed.

"See, that is your problem Miley. You never stand up for yourself and what you want! You're just so scared to do anything. Why are you like that?" Nick asked, his voice getting quieter. Miley blinked back tears as she looked Nick straight in the eyes.

"Nick, you know _exactly _why I am like that, so please just don't go there." Miley said, uncrossing her arms. Nick sighed, and regained his composure.

"Listen, I'm not going to lie to you. I don't appreciate you singing that song but I am sorry. I over-reacted. But, seriously, just leave me out of your music." Nick said, walking out of the room. Miley wrapped her arms around herself. She sucked back her sobs, as she wiped the tears that had just fallen from her eyes. She gathered her emotions and left the room, going back out into the crowd. There was simple background music, as she made her way over to Selena, Demi, Joe, and of course, Nick. Miley squeezed in between Selena and Demi, really not wanting to stand beside Nick.

Selena looked over at her smiling, but instantly frowned. Miley obviously didn't look okay.

"What happened?" Selena mouthed. Miley shook her head softly, not wanting to talk about it. Selena glanced at Nick, and Miley closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she looked at Selena, she saw her glaring at Nick. Miley pinched her arm, as Selena gasped.

"Ouch!" she muttered, as Demi looked at her weird.

"How much longer?" Miley asked in Demi's ear. Demi knew someone was wrong, also, but decided she would wait for Miley to tell her.

"Um, we can leave any time, really." Demi replied, as Miley glanced at Nick he was laughing and smiling at something Joe said.

_At least he was happy_

Once they got home, it was close to midnight. Miley walked into my room, shutting the door behind her. She went over to her dresser, pulling of pajamas. She went into the bathroom, shutting her bathroom door behind her. Miley looked over and saw Nick's was open. She walked in his room and saw him sitting on his bed.

"Um, hi." Miley whispered, as Nick turned his head.

"Hey." He said, as she could have sworn she saw him smile.

"Um, I'm going to go take a shower, and then go to bed." Miley replied, as Nick nodded.

"Okay, well I guess I'll see you in the morning." He said, as Miley shut Nick's bathroom door. Miley looked at herself in the mirror. She honestly had no idea why she was here. She doesn't belong here. She belongs back in Connecticut, working at the dinner, getting harassed and terrorized every day. This was supposed to be Nick's thing; not Nick and Miley's. She went over to shower, turning on the faucet. She got in the shower, washing this day off of her.

She finished about an hour later and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her petite frame. She slid on her t-shirt and shorts, as she put her hair up in a bun. She cleaned up everything, and then slowly walked over to Nick's door. She opened it up and saw him sitting on his bed, on his laptop.

"Hey, what are you still doing up?" Miley asked, as Nick looked over and casually closed his laptop.

"Couldn't sleep." He replied, as Miley nodded.

"Okay, well goodnight . . . again." She said, giggling. He smiled genuinely over to her, as she was about to walk back into the bathroom.

"Wait, Miley." Nick called, as Miley turned around.

"Yeah?" She asked, brushing loose hair out from her eyes. Nick patted down as his bed, as Miley walked over and sat down, looking at Nick.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I want to know." Nick said; as Miley gave him a puzzled looked.

"Know what?" Miley asked, confused.

"I want to know what all happened while I was gone. I don't want you to leave out anything." Nick said, as Miley closed her eyes, processing.

"Why?" she whispered, as she opened her eyes. Nick looked her straight in the eye, as he noticed her mixed emotions. He could read her like a book; whether it was her eyes or her body language. Most of the time, he used that to his advantage.

"Because, I really need to know what all happened to you while I wasn't there. Just please, tell me." Nick practically begged; as Miley took a deep breath. She knew she wouldn't win this battle, so why not surrender now?

"Well, right after you left it was really bad. I hardly slept, or ate. I stayed up in my room except for when I had to go to school. I didn't do anything. I felt as if there was nothing left. Then, a few weeks ago, Grammy died." Miley spoke, as she heard a gasp come from Nick's lips.

"What?" Nick asked, as Miley sat there, her head hanging down. Both of the teenagers stayed silent for a moment, as Nick processed all the information into his mind. It took him a while, but he finally responded.

"How?" He asked, quietly. Miley slowly tilted up her head, as she stared directly into Nick's eyes.

"She was in a coma, after being in a car accident." Miley replied, as Nick shook his head. That was horrible. Not just because she lost her grandmother, but because it happened the exact same way her parents were killed.

"I'm so sorry, Miley. Is there anything I can do?" Nick asked, as Miley shook her head.

"No, there isn't. But, I'm really tired; I think I'm going to bed." Miley said, getting up off of Nick's bed, and heading back towards the bathroom. She looked back towards him, with a sad smile on her face.

"Goodnight, Nick." She mumbled, going into her room and shutting the door to the bathroom.

Miley climbed up onto her bed, as she sighed. She knows that she should have told Nick about her diabetes, but he said he didn't want to deal with her emotional drama, so she decided to stay quiet. Miley cuddled under the covers, her room pitch black. She closed her eyes, thinking about Nick the entire time.

Nick woke up the next morning, still thinking about his talk with Miley. He was so happy that everything was getting back to normal. Honestly, he missed her. He missed her a lot. He was his air, and he needed her to be in his life. He walked down stairs and saw his mother in the kitchen, making breakfast. Miley was nowhere in sight. He walked over to his mom and gave her a hug.

"Someone's a little happy this morning. What happened to you last night?" she asked, seeing the glow on her sons face.

"Miley and I talked; like an actually conversation. She told me everything that I missed and everything that happened while I was gone. I'm glad she finally opened back up to me about everything." Nick vented. Mrs. Grey smiled, as she continued making her French toast.

"Okay, well just so you know Miley has a check up at the doctor's office in two days." Denise said, as Nick gave his mom a confused look.

"A check up for what?" Nick asked, as Denise's eyes widened.

"I'm guessing she didn't tell you." She said, as Nick started to get worried.

"What did she not tell me?" Nick questioned, getting aggravated.

"I think Miley should tell you." She said, as Nick grew angry.

"Just tell me what's wrong with her!" Nick almost screamed, needing to know what was wrong with his best friend.

"She has diabetes, Nick. I don't know why she didn't tell you, but she has it. She has a check up to make sure everything is going okay." She sighed, as Nick's eyes because blank. His whole face held no emotion.

"I have to go talk to her." Nick said, heading straight for the stairs.

"Nicholas!" his mother yelled, as he stopped immediately.

"You are not going to tell her that you know. Let her tell you when she's ready for you to know. But, as of right now, but be there for her." She said, as Nick took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay, but I just don't understand why she didn't tell me." Nick said, feeling powerless.

"Maybe she wasn't ready, Nick. This is her thing; you have to let her talk to you about it." Denise said, as Nick nodded solemnly, heading into the living room. He sat there, thinking about how to deal with this. He knows that he shouldn't bring it up. But, he also needs to let her know that he is here for her, and always will be. He put his head in his hands and sighed. After a little while of being by himself, he got up and went upstairs, heading towards Miley's room. He knocked lightly, opening the door. He saw her sitting up in her bed, on the computer.

"Hey Miles, what're you doing?" he asked, as she shrugged.

"Just looking around . . ." she said, as she smiled over at him.

"Are looking at any gossip sites?" he said, as her skin turned bright red.

"Um, no." she said, gulping.

"Trust me, Miles, we all do it at one point or another." He said, going over and sitting down next to her on her bed.

"So, find anything interesting?" he asked, as Miley shook her head, scrolling through the gossip sites.

"Not really, though. I did find some interesting ones about you, though." Miley said, as Nick looked at her confused.

"Like what?" he asked, as she shut her laptop and hopped off the bed with it.

"NOTHING!" she yelled happily, skipping out of her room. Nick jumped off the bed and ran after her.

"What did it say?" Nick asked, as he saw Miley running down the steps, without her laptop. _Where did she put it?_

"I don't know!" she giggled, as Nick ran down after her. She ran into the kitchen, with Nick in tow.

"Denise, help!" Miley yelped, hiding behind the older woman.

"Mom, please move!" Nick asked, as Miley peered out from behind her.

"Why is Miley hiding from you?" she asked, amused at the two of them.

"Because, she saw something on a gossip site about me, and she won't tell me what it is!" Nick whined, as Miley giggled. She ran out from behind Denise and to the screen door, heading out to the back yard. Nick ran after her, as he saw Miley running around the pool. He rolled his eyes, as her head her yelp. He looked over and saw her fall into the pool. He laughed, as then ran over to the pool, just making sure she was okay. He saw her come up from under the water, looking extremely pissed. She slowly made her way over to the edge where Nick was standing.

"Can you help me out?" Miley asked, as Nick looked down at her, amused.

"Why should I?" he asked, as she tears gathered up in her eyes.

"You don't want to help your best friend?" she whimpered, as Nick started to feel bad.

"Okay, I'm sorry." He said, bending down, grabbing onto her hands. He slowly pulled her out of the water, and went over to the pool storage area and grabbed a towel for her. He went back over to her, wrapping it around her.

"I'm sorry you fell into the pool." He said, as she wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back, tightly, as he heard her giggle.

"What?" he asked, as she pulled away.

"You're all wet!" she laughed, as he looked down and saw that his clothes were completely soaked through. He saw her smile brightly.

"Did you do that on purpose?" he asked, as she smiled.

"Maybe!" she replied, leaning up and kissing his cheek, before skipping inside.

"So, Miley, are you coming to Nick's concert in San Diego tomorrow?" Selena asked, while she was braiding Miley's hair. Miley invited Demi and Selena to sleep over, and figured they'd just spend the next day together.

"Yeah, of course!" Miley replied, as she grimaced as her hair was pulled. Everyone was in their pajamas, down in the den. They were making this an epic sleep-over. Demi was laying out of the pull out bed they were going to sleep on.

"What do you think we should do to Nick?" Demi asked, flipping through a magazine.

"What do you mean?" Miley asked, as Selena finished 'braiding' Miley's hair.

"I mean, do you want to put whip cream all over his bed, put pictures of old women all around his room, 'roll' his room." Demi listed off, giving me suggestion after suggestion.

"Um, I don't think we should do anything like that." Miley replied, as Demi pouted.

"What not? It's just some harmless fun!" Demi replied, smiling.

"I know, but I don't want to ruin anything in his room. I mean, if you all want to do it, fine, but I'm not going to." Miley replied, as Demi and Selena shrugged.

"Party pooper." Demi replied, going back to reading her magazines.

The next day, Miley was sitting in Nick's dressing room, as he was sitting in his chair, getting ready for sound check.

"So, how was your sleepover. Also, I don't suppose you have anything to do with the thousands of old lady pictures all over my room, do you?" he asked, smirking. Miley bit her lip, and shook her head.

"I have no idea." She whispered, giggling. That was one of her weakness. Whenever she would lie, she would start giggling, so Nick always knew when she was lying.

"Okay, now I have a serious question." Nick said, right after his publicist left the room.

"What?" Miley asked, confused.

"What was that freaking' rumor you saw!" he asked, as Miley started laughing her contagious laugh.

"Nick, seriously, it was nothing. If it was anything big, you would have heard about it by now, so chill." She said, as he started humming a new song.

"What's that?" Miley asked.

"Just a new song I've been working on. I'm going to play it tonight." He said, as Miley smiled bright.

"Can I hear it?" she asked. Nick shook his head.

"Nope, you'll hear it tonight." He said, as she pouted.

"What's it about?" she continued to ask, as he just stared at her, amused.

"Can you seriously not wait just like 3 hours and see for yourself. But just to let you know, you're going to love it!" he said, as her smile brightened.

"Well, I guess I can wait. If I _have _to." She said, trying on last time.

"You will be okay, Miles." He said, as she stood up and walked over to him. She leant down and gave him a long hug.

"What was that for?" he asked, after she pulled away.

"I'm really proud of you, Nicky." She said, as he smiled.

"I'm proud of you too, Smiles." He said, as she smiled wide.

Nick had just finished his concert and was about to walk back out for the encore.

"Well, I hope you like it Smiles." He said, as he walked back out on stage, hearing the screaming come back to life. He sat down on the piano, and started playing.

_Got the news today, doctor said I had to stay  
A little bit longer, and I'll be fine  
When I thought it'd all been done  
When I thought it'd all been said  
A little bit longer, and I'll be fine_

_But you don't know what you've got till it's gone  
And you don't know what's it's like to feel so low  
And every time you smile, you laugh, you glow  
You don't even know, know, know  
You don't even know_

_All this time goes by, still no reason why  
A little bit longer, and I'll be fine  
Waiting on a cure, but none of them are sure  
A little bit longer, and I'll fine_

_But you don't know what you've got till it's gone  
And you don't know what's it like to feel so low  
And every time you smile, you laugh, you glow  
You don't even know, know, know  
You don't even know, know, know  
You don't even know, know, know_

_But you don't know what you've got till it's gone  
And you don't know what it's like to feel so low  
And every time you smile, you laugh, you glow  
You don't even know, yeah, whoa, yeah  
You don't even know_

_So I'll wait till kingdom come  
All the highs and lows are gone  
A little bit longer, and I'll be fine_

_**You'll **__be fine_

**Authors Note:**** Aww! Nicky's so nice! So, I am so so so so so so sssssssssooooooooooooo sorry that this took forever! I really am. It's just, school has been a bitch lately. My Chemistry teacher is also a bitch, and 99% of the time, I have at least 2 hours of Chem. homework a night, so that sucks and takes up my time, and along with marching band, I really don't have time for my 'online' life, I suppose. Well, if you read all of this, I appreciate you and you're amazing-ness! Well, please review and let me know what you think! I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible! I love all of my lovely reviewers and readers! Thank you guys for all the support! **

**Love, Erin Marie**


	11. Part 10

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 10

_**You'll**__ be fine_

Tears poured out of the girl's eyes, as Nick looked straight at her. He saw the pain that she was carrying. She ran away, as Nick quickly said his goodbyes and thank you's. He ran off of the stage, seeing his mother point to his dressing room. Nick gave her a quick nod and then ran to his dressing room, opening the door and shutting it behind him. He looked over in the corner of the room and saw her sitting there, her arms wrapped around herself. She was rocking herself back and forth, as sobs ripped through her mouth. Nick ran over to her and wrapped his arms protectively around her. He knew she needed comfort and acceptance. He knew she felt bad for not telling him. He knew everything she was thinking. She wrapped her arms around his waist, as he continued to hold her, whispering comforting words into her ear.

"How did you find out?" she asked, her voice unstable. Nick looked down at her, her eyes filled with regret and pain.

"After we talked a few days ago, I went and talked to my mom and she thought that you told me _everything_." He explained, as she nodded slowly. She was waiting for him to yell at her. She was so sure it was coming; which was why she was so surprised when his voice came out soft and understanding.

"Why didn't you tell me, Mi?" he asked, obviously hurt that he thinks that Miley doesn't trust him. She sighed, her lips trembling. She gathered herself together, before looking up into his eyes.

"You told me you didn't want to deal with my emotional baggage anymore." She whispered, as Nick's eyes clouded with confusion.

"Miley, being sick is not having 'emotional baggage'! Did you honestly think that you couldn't tell me about this? If I made you feel that way, I am so sorry Mi. I really am." He responded softly, as she nodded.

"Thank you." She whispered, as he helped her up and over to the couch.

"For what?" he asked, as she sat down.

"For everything."

Everyone gathered into the largest room at Platinum Records, as Mr. Gilmore made his way to the front of the table. He sat down in his chair, as everyone became quiet.

"Okay, well as you know I am trying to do things a little bit differently than your former President. I want this side of the room to right your name down on a sheet of paper and put it in this bag." He said, as everyone on the left side of the room did so. After he was finished, he walked around the table and held out the bag.

"Everyone on this side, draw a name. This is the person that you will be singing a duet with for our next combination album. It can be any classic song. You have one week to pick and record your song. Okay, Nick, draw first." Mr. Gilmore said, as Nick stuck his hand in the bag.

"Vanessa." He said, as he smiled.

"I've got Kevin." Demi replied.

"Ashley." Demi replied. Miley grabbed the last name in the bag.

"Joe." She replied, as Mr. Gilmore smiled at all of them.

"Alright, so this week, I want you to get to know the person you are going to be working with. Well, let's get started!" he said, as everyone made their separate ways. Miley didn't know much about Joe; except for that he was Demi's on-again off-again boyfriend.

"Hello." Miley said, smiling. He nodded, sitting down next to her.

"So, Joe what type of genre do you think we should do?" Miley asked as he shrugged.

"Are you okay?" Miley asked, as Joe shrugged.

"I'm hungry, do you want to go get something to eat. Maybe if I have some food in my system, I might actually respond to you with a sentence." He said, as Miley nodded, giggling.

"Alright, well where do you want to go?" Miley asked, as Joe led her out the door.

"I know the perfect place."

"Well alright." Miley said, as they walked out to Joe's car. They got in, as Joe started to drive to his destination.

"So, Joe, how old are you?" Miley asked, bored.

"I'm 18. How old are you?" he asked.

"I'm 15. When's your birthday?" she asked, as she turned up the radio slightly.

"August 15th. When's yours?" he asked.

"November 23. Are you good friends with Nick?" Miley asked, as Joe nodded.

"Yeah, he's a really nice guy. He's a great friend, too. Did you ever date him?" Joe asked, as Miley gave him a disgusted look.

"Um, no. He's like my brother. That's weird." Miley said. Joe just smirked at her.

"What?" she asked, as he continued smirking.

"He's so in love with you." Joe said, as Miley shook her head.

"Um, no, he's not." Miley said, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Sure, of course he's not." Joe said sarcastically.

"Changing the subject; what's going on with you and Demi? Are you guys together right now or what?" Miley asked, as Joe cleared his throat.

"Promise you won't tell anyone; especially Demi?" Joe asked. Miley held out her pinky, smiling.

"Pinky promise." She said, as they locked pinkies.

"Well, I mean, we've been dating off and on for about a year and a half now, and honestly, I'm just ready for a stable relationship. I just don't think Demi and I can do that." Joe vented, as Miley nodded.

"Well, I believe that there's someone out there for everyone; maybe you just haven't found yours yet." Miley said, as Joe smiled.

"Yeah; well what about you? How many people have you dated?" Joe asked, as Miley hung her head low in embarrassment.

"Um, zero." She replied, as Joe just laughed.

"Sure, now seriously, how many boyfriends have you had?" he asked, stopping at a red light.

"Um, I was being serious. I've never even been on a date." Miley said, her face red.

"Oh, well, this is awkward." Joe said, pulling into a small little café.

"Boys didn't really go for the nerdy, friend-less, girls." Miley replied, getting out of Joe's car.

"Well alrighty then." He replied, as he led her into the small place.

"What is this place?" Miley asked, seeing no one in the café yet.

"This is my cousin's café. It's really good." Joe said, seating himself in one of the comfortable booths. Miley sat across from him, as a young looking girl came over.

"Since when do you think you're aloud to seat yourself?" she asked, as Joe smiled.

"Nice to see you, too Anna." He replied, as the girl looked over at Miley.

"Joey, who's this?" she asked, as Joe smiled.

"This is Miley. She's the new girl. I _have_ to be friends with her." Joe said, rolling his eyes and then smiling. Miley giggled, as Anna smiled.

"Well, just let me know what you all want, whenever you decide. See you guys later." Anna said, going back into the kitchen.

"She seems . . . spirited." Miley pointed out, as Joe nodded.

"Yeah, well she is. So, I feel like I need to know everything about you. So, shall we just start from the beginning?" he questioned, as Miley bit her lip.

_This was going to be a long day._

"Nicky, I'm home!" Miley yelled as she walked into the home. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs, as saw Nick emerge.

"Smiles, I don't care!" he mock yelled, as he fell back onto the couch, turning on the TV. Miley pouted, sitting next to him.

"So, what's up in your life?" Miley asked, as Nick shrugged.

"Not much. I'm thinking about auditioning for a role in a new movie, though." Nick said, casually flipping through channels.

"Really? I'm going to see my Nicky on the big screen! I'm so proud!" Miley mocked, as a fake tear slid down her cheek.

"Good god, woman. You're so weird." Nick said, turning off the TV. Why were all shows such crap, now?

"You know, Joe said the funniest thing today. Well, I guess weird would be the correct term." Miley said, as Nick raised his eyebrows.

"Oh yes, how did your date with Mr. Joe go?" Nick asked, smirking. Miley rolled her eyes, deciding to just ignore his comment.

"It was fine, but he said something really weird. He said-he said that you were in love with me!" Miley said, as she giggled. Nick threw up a fake smile and laugh.

"What? That's just stupid. I'm not in love you with." Nick replied, scoffing. Miley felt like a small piece of her heart had just been smashed. Honestly, she didn't even know why.

"Yeah, that's just . . . stupid." Miley replied, running her hand through her hair.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Nick asked, as Miley shrugged.

"I think I'm just going to go take a nap. I'm really tired." Miley said, getting up and walking upstairs.

"Sleep well!" Nick called, as a tear slid down from Miley's eye. She was so confused right now. She knew she loved him, but she didn't think she was in love with him. She opened the door to her room and shut it, making sure the bathroom door was shut. She climbed up onto her bed, hugging her pillow. She sat there forever. She picked up her phone and went to her contacts. The first name she saw was Demi, seeing as she put it in her phone as 'AAmazingDemi'. She skipped passed it, deciding to call somebody else. She dialed his number and took a deep breath.

"Hey Smilerz, what's up?" Joe asked through the phone.

"Can you come over, please? I need to talk to somebody." Miley replied, her voice soft.

"Yeah, of course. Are you okay?" he asked, as Miley sighed.

"Just . . . come over." She said, as she hung up. About 15 minutes later, Miley heard the doorbell ring. She got up off her bed and opened her door. She saw Nick open the door, as Joe appeared.

"Hey man, did I know you were coming over?" Nick asked, as Joe was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Um no, actually I came over to see Smilerz." Joe replied, as Miley smiled.

"Smilerz? Since when are you two so buddy-buddy?" Nick asked, kind of jealous. Joe shrugged, as he gave Nick a half-hug.

"See ya!" he said, skipping steps as he hurried up the steps. Miley was back in her doorway.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Joe asked, as Miley leaned out and hugged him. He hugged her back, still very confused.

"I'll tell you in here." Miley said quietly, as she led Joe in her bedroom and shut the door. She made sure the door to her bathroom was shut. She sat down on her window seat, her back against the wall. Joe sat down beside her, as pulled her knees against her chest.

"What's going on?" Joe asked, very confused at the moment. Miley paused, trying to think of how to say this.

"Okay, so you know how earlier today, you said that Nick was in love with me. Well, I told him that you said that and then he was all disgusted and was like 'I'm definitely not in love you' and stuff like that. But, the only thing was, I felt really sad after he said that. I'm just so confused right now." Miley mumbled, as Joe sighed.

"Listen, Smilerz, he's just putting up a front. Honestly, if you would hear the way he talks about you, you would honestly believe that he is in love with you." Joe said softly, as Miley shrugged.

"I don't know why I got so upset over it." Miley whined. Joe chuckled, as Miley looked at him.

"Because you're in love with him." Joe replied, as Miley put her head in her hands.

"But, can I ask you a serious question?" Joe asked, as Miley nodded.

"Sure, what is it?" Miley questioned.

"Why didn't you talk to Demi or Selena about this?" Joe asked, as Miley shrugged.

"I just, I don't know. I just thought that if Demi or Selena knew, then it would get all weird. Because, if there's one thing I know, is that if I never came along, Nick and Selena would be a couple right now." Miley replied, as Joe nodded.

"Okay, I guess I understand that. So, back to work, what song do you think we should do?" Joe asked, as Miley shrugged.

"I have no idea." Miley giggled, as Joe rolled his eyes.

"Well, maybe we should work on that." Joe replied, messing up Miley's hair.

"Hey, don't mess up the hair." Miley warned, as she stood up and went over to her guitar.

"You know, we are going to be the only group that doesn't have their song ready." Miley said, sticking her tongue out at him.

About 30 minutes later, Joe and Miley really hadn't gotten much work done. So, Joe decided he'd do see Demi.

"Okay, well thanks for entertaining me for a while. I'll see you tomorrow Smilerz." Joe said, as they walked down stairs. Nick was still perched on the couch, watching some show.

"See you tomorrow Nick." Joe said, walking out the front door. Miley shut the door behind him and walked over and sat down next to Nick.

"Hey Nicky." Miley replied, trying not to let their previous conversation affect her.

"Hey Mi. What was wrong earlier?" Nick asked, as Miley shrugged.

"Um, nothing. Just wanted Joe to come over and hang out." Miley lied, as Nick rolled his eyes.

"Listen, Miley, I need to tell you something." Nick responded, as Miley turned to face him.

"You can't be friends with Joe anymore."

**A/N: ****DUN DUN DUN. Hope you liked it! Please review?**


	12. Part 11

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for the plot.

_**Thunder and Lightening  
**_Part 11

"Excuse me?" Miley asked her eyes fiery. Nick shrunk down in his seat, but then decided to stand his ground.

"I said that you can't be friends with Joe anymore." Nick said again, as Miley scoffed.

"Nick, you can't tell me who to be friends with! Why do you care, anyway?" Miley asked, fighting back. Nick rolled his eyes, are he began to explain.

"Because, he's three freakin' years older than you! You don't need to be hanging out with him! He could get you in trouble!" Nick explained, as Miley almost slapped him.

"Nick, you were friends with Joe for a year and a half before I even started hanging out with him! You're only a few months older than me!" Miley shot back, as Nick rolled his eyes.

"But it's not the same! You're a girl, and I don't think—"

"So because I'm a girl, I can't have any guy friends? Nick, seriously, what is up with you?" she yelled, as Nick punched the wall beside of him. Miley jumped back, never seeing him so angry before. He punched the wall repeatedly, while Miley slowly backed towards the front door.

"Nick, you're scaring me." Miley whispered, as Nick looked at her, fire burning in his eyes. Before another word was spoken, Miley hurried out the front door and onto the sidewalk, as the sun was almost completely behind the moon. She quickened her pace, as she made her way to her best friend's house. She finally got there, pressing the button.

"Hello?" the guard answered through, as Miley replied automatically.

"Hey Jeff, its Miley. Can you open the gates?" Miley said, as it was completely dark. The only thing giving her any view was the dimly lit lamp, high above the street.

"Sure, sweetheart." He replied, as the gates opened and Miley walked in, as they shut behind her. Selena's driveway was fully illuminated, so Miley easily made her way toward the French doors. She rang the doorbell as Jeff answered.

"Hello Miss Stewart, Selena is in the family room with her parents." He replied, opening the door wide for Miley. She walked in to the comfy home, as she followed Jeff to the living room.

"Hey Miley!" Selena said excitedly, as she spotted her best friend. Selena and Miley hadn't hung out in a few days, so it was good to see her.

"Hey Selly, I didn't mean to interrupt, but can I talk to you?" Miley asked, with pleading eyes. Selena nodded hurriedly, as she looked at her mom and step-dad and permission.

"Yeah, that's fine. We'll just finish the game without you. It looks like it may take awhile." Mandy replied, smiling softly at Miley. Selena grabbed Miley's hand, leading her up the spiral stairs and into Selena's bedroom. She shut the door behind her, as Miley slid down the wall. Selena slid down next to her, as they were silent for a good fifteen minutes.

"You want to tell me what's wrong?" Selena asked, trying to get rid of the silence.

"Nick." Miley whispered, think about today's previous events.

"What happened?" She asked, as Miley fiddled with her rings.

"Well, I've been hanging out with Joe all day, and once he left, Nick told me that I shouldn't be friends with him. We got into an argument and then he started hitting things and yelling. That's when I came over here." Miley explained. Nick had never actually yelled at her before. She didn't like this feeling, though. In fact, she hated it.

"Aw, honey, I'm sure he was just jealous. I mean, he's your best friend. He probably feels like he is being replaced by Joe. I'm sure he didn't mean to scare you." Selena comforted, as she wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"I know, but I don't feel like seeing him right now. Can I hang out here for a while?" Miley asked, partially not wanting to see Nick, but she also didn't want to walk home in the dark. She was terrified of the dark.

"Of course you can. Do you want to watch a movie? We could invite Demi over and just have a girl's night." Selena suggested.

"That sounds fine." Miley said, yawning.

"Well, how about I'll call Mrs. Gray and tell her you're spending the night. I'll give you some clothes. Hold on." Selena said, as she grabbed her phone, texting Demi. She grabbed a pair of flannel shorts and t-shirt from her drawer. She tossed them to Miley, as Miley made her way to the bathroom. She finished quickly, as she quietly opened the door, with her clothes in her hand. Selena's back was to her as she was talking on the phone.

"All I know was that Nick and Miley got in a fight, and I guess Nick started yelling and punching things and she got scared. She's changing right now. Thank you for letting her sleep over. Well, I'll talk you tomorrow. Good night Mrs. Gray." Selena said, tossing her phone on the bed.

"Hey Selly. Where do you want these?" Miley asked, gesturing to her folded clothes.

"Um, you can just put them on the dresser." She replied, as Miley sat them down, grabbing her phone. She lay down on Selena's bed, as Selena walked over to her DVD collection.

"What do you want to watch, Mile?" Selena asked, glancing back at her.

"Um, something funny." Miley replied, as she got a new text message.

'_Miley, I'm sorry I got mad at you earlier. I really didn't mean to, I just don't know what came over me. I didn't mean to scare you. Please, forgive me. I'm so sorry Mi.'_

Miley sighed, as she put her head into the pillow, not answering him. She wasn't really mad at him, she was just so confused. She had no idea what was going on right now. Even though he scared her, she was never mad at her. Part of her was telling her to respond to him, to tell him it was fine. But, the other part, was telling her to make him wait. Make him guess whether she would forgive him or not.

"Knock knock!" Demi chirped, walking into Selena's room. She held sodas and junk food in her hands.

"Hey Dem!" Selena replied, as she sat her stuff down.

"So, why are you being a Debby Downer?" Demi asked, glancing towards Miley. She just shrugged, as the movie started. The rest of the night was uneventful. Miley's mind was just on one thing and that one thing was why Nick was so jealous.

Miley stumbled into her home at about 6 AM the next morning. She was so tired, but she really just wanted to sleep in her own bed. She slowly made her way up the stairs, walking over to her bed room. She walked in, seeing Nick in his room, on his computer.

"Have you been up all night?" Miley asked, standing in his door way. Nick jumped, not realizing anyone was standing there.

"Um, yeah. I couldn't really go to sleep, so I figured I'd just catch up on all the gossip." Nick said, smirking. Miley smiled back, almost forgetting about yesterday's events. _Almost._

"Okay, listen, Nick I don't understand why you don't want me to be friends with Joe." Miley said, after Nick shut down his computer and made his way over to his bed. Nick stayed silent, as Miley started to get frustrated.

"Nick, I'm serious, I just want to know why you got so mad!" Miley pleaded, as Nick sighed.

"I don't want to lose you." Nick whispered. Miley looked in his eyes, very confused.

"How would you lose me?" Miley asked, sitting next to him. It was silent for a few minutes. Miley really wanted to know what was going through is head, but she didn't want to push him. Nick lay down on his bed, leaving room for Miley. She lay down also, leaving a small gap in between them.

"Let me in, Nicky. Let me know what's wrong." Miley comforted, rubbing his arm.

"I just, I didn't have my best friend for almost two years. Yeah, it's when my career was starting and it was great, but I wish you were here. I just, I don't want to share my best friend with anyone else. Because, I hope you know that you are one of the most important things to me, Mi." Nick told her, as Miley smiled. She curled up next to him, as she felt his arm wrap around her.

"Nick, you'll never lose me. I'll always be your best friend." She replied, as she yawned.

"I guess you really didn't get much sleep at your sleepover, huh?" Nick asked, as Miley shook her head, yawning again. She closed her eyes, and soon enough he heard her breathing deepen. He kissed her temple and closed his eyes.

_They were going to be okay._

Miley slid her floral tank top over her head, finishing her outfit. She slid on her gladiator sandals, sliding her phone in her back pocket.

"Where are you going?" Nick asked, coming into her room.

"I'm going to the recording studio with Demi and Joe. I need to work on my song for that 'project' Mr. Gilmore is making us do." Miley said, pulling her hair back into a pony tail.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Nick asked, as Miley looked at the clock.

"Because it's 10:30 and I was supposed to be there 15 minutes ago." She said, looking in the mirror.

"How are you getting there?" Nick asked, as Miley looked at him.

"Your mother is dropping me off. Now, I would love to stay and chit chat, but I really have got to go. See ya!" Miley replied, giving him and quick hug and running down the stairs.

About 10 minutes later, Miley was waving goodbye to Denise, running into the studio. She ran over to the elevators and went to the 4th floor. She waited impatiently until she got to her floor. She slid through the elevator doors and saw Joe walking down the hall.

"I'm sorry I'm later. I woke up late and then Nick started trying to chit chat and then I was like 'Dude, I gotta go' and then he was like 'where' and then I was like . . ."

"Miley, I really don't care." Joe said, laughing.

"Sorry, so have you come up with any ideas for a song yet?" Miley asked, as Joe shrugged.

"No, have you?" he asked, leading her to their studio. Miley saw Demi sitting down in one of the chairs, spinning around to face Miley.

"I was expecting you." Demi said in a creepy voice. Miley gave her a funny look as Demi started giggling.

"I've always wanted to do that." She replied, as Miley went over and gave her a hug. Joe pushed Miley out of the way and sat down on Demi's lap.

"Joe, what is your problem?" Miley asked, falling back into the other chair.

"Demi is my girlfriend! Not yours!" Joe said, kissing Demi's forehead.

"Um, Joe, Demi is my best friend, and every stupid thing you do, Demi tells me. I have so much dirt on you, I wouldn't even go there." Miley replied, smirking.

"Demi, what all did you tell her?" Joe asked, placing his hand across his chest.

"Um, everything." Demi smiled, as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Where's the trust?" Joe asked, trying to pull out of Demi's grip.

"Joe, it's not like I'm going to go tell your deepest darkest secrets or anything. Most of the stuff she told me, I don't care about." Miley said, as Joe looked down at Demi.

"I love you, Joey!" Demi said, giving him a kiss. Joe kissed her back, as Miley started to gag.

"Okay guys, seriously, get a room." Miley replied, getting up and pushing Joe off and Demi's lap onto the ground.

"Ow! Jerk!" Joe yelled, as Miley pulled him up.

"Come on, Joe. We have to pick a song!" Miley said, as Joe smiled.

"I have to perfect song." He said, smiling.

Miley sang the last note, as they finished recording their cover. They had been recording the song for about 3 hours.

"Good god, you take forever!" Joe complained, referring to when Miley had to record one part about 5 times.

"Well sorry!" Miley said, as Selena burst through the door.

"Um, hi." Demi said, confused as to why Selena was here.

"What's up best friends; Joe." Selena said, glaring icily at her best friend's boyfriend.

"What did I do?" Joe asked, as Demi stood up beside him.

"Oh, I think you know what you did." Selena said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a photo.

"What's that?" Joe asked, moving his eyes back and forth nervously.

"This is a picture of my vandalized driveway. Do you know anything about that, Joseph?" Selena asked, as Joe shook his head.

"Um, no I do not." Joe said, as Selena reached into her bag again. She pulled out a phone, throwing it at Joe.

"How did you get this?" Joe asked, as Selena just glared at him.

"You left it in my driveway, Joe. Right next to the words 'Joe J is sexy' spray-painted in-front of my garage." Selena said, as Joe's cheeks got red.

"Seriously?" Demi asked, as Miley and Demi started laughing.

"I hope you have fun pressure-washing my drive way, Joe." Selena said, smacking the back of his head.

"Ow! Demi, your evil friend hit me!" Joe whined, as Demi rubbed his head.

"Aw, I'm sorry baby." Demi replied, leaning up and giving him a kiss.

"Okay, you guys are disgusting. But anyway, what do you all want to do today?"

"I don't know, but I say we go to the beach." Demi suggested, as everyone nodded.

"Okay, well I'll call Nick and see if he wants to go." Miley said, as everyone walked out of the studio. They all went their separate ways, after making their plans. Miley came inside, after being dropped off by Selena's mom.

"NICHOLAS!" Miley yelled, as Nick came out of the kitchen. He was already in his bathing suit, wearing a t-shirt, also.

"Joe is picking us up in 10 minutes. I'll be down in a few." Miley said, hurrying up the stairs. She went into her room, shutting the door. She went to her drawer, pulling out her bathing suit. It was a two-piece bikini, but not a revealing one. She slid on a pair of jean shorts and a white t-shirt, which hung off her shoulder. She put on her flip flops and made her way back down stairs.

"Do you have the towels and stuff?" Miley asked, as Nick nodded. They went outside, just as Joe pulled up. Surprisingly, there were no paparazzi outside of Nick's house today. The two best friends climbed in the back, seeing everyone else in Joe's car.

"Hello friends." Miley said, as Selena smiled.

"Hello." Demi replied, as Joe made his way to the beach. They found a deserted area, as they spread their stuff out. Soon enough, someone would tip the paparazzi off that 5 of the most famous teen stairs were all at the beach, so they decided to go ahead and get in the water and have fun. Miley was trying to slowly get used to the temperature of the water, as Nick came over to her.

"How have you been feeling lately?" Nick asked, as Miley shrugged.

"Alright, some days are better than others. I still get sick sometimes, though." Miley told him, as he nodded slowly.

"Have you been eating enough?" Nick asked, as he noticed Miley's slimming figure. She just laughed at him.

"Yes Nick, I have. I'm not one of those girls who think they have to be a size zero." She said, still giggling.

"Yeah, I know, just making sure. I'm just trying to make sure you're okay. That's what number one best friends do!" Nick said, as he made his way over to her. Miley thought he was going to throw her in the water or something.

"Don't you dare!" Miley shrieked, as Nick gave her a weird look.

"I just wanted a hug." Nick said, pouting. Miley smiled and went over to him, wrapping her arms around his naked torso.

"Why don't you have a girlfriend?" Miley asked, as Nick just shrugged.

"Why don't you have a boyfriend?" Nick asked, as Miley just laughed.

"Are you serious? No one has ever wanted to date me." Miley said, laughing about it. Though Nick could tell that she still felt like that insecure girl back in Connecticut.

"Do you want to swim with me?" Nick asked, seeing Joe coming up from behind Miley.

"No, I'd rather not get very wet. And plus the water is too cold." Miley said, not noticing Joe right behind her.

"Well, I think that you should." Nick said, as Joe put his arms on Miley's waist, lifting her up and throwing her out into the water. A few seconds later, she came up out of the water and spitting it out of her mouth.

"You two are dead." She said, slowly walked over to them, as both of them rolled their eyes.

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Joe said, in a high pitched, girly voice. Miley turned towards Nick, as his eyes widened. She winked at him, as he smiled. He knew what she was doing. She was almost towards Nick, when she jumped over to Joe, attacking him. She threw him down into the water, managing not to go down with him.

"That was cold." Joe said, coming up from the water. Nick gave Miley a high five, as Demi and Selena came over.

"Miley, I thought you weren't going to get your hair wet!" Selena said, knowing she would probably be fixing it later.

"Well, Demi's man decided to throw me into the water." Miley said, sending a glare towards Joe.

"Hey, stop picking on me. You got your pay back! Just because you'll have to blow dry your hair or straighten it, you will not die!" He said, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Well, I think we should go. It's like 12:30. Let's all got back to my house!" Selena said, as everyone grabbed their belongings and headed back towards the car. They stopped by everyone's houses, to get some clothes. Eventually, they all got back to Selena's house.

"Well, boys, you can just go into the bathroom down here, us girls are going up to my room to shower and fix our hair and stuff." Demi said, as the three girls skipped up the steps. They got into Selena's room, locking the door behind them. They definitely did not want to boys coming in.

"Who wants to shower first?" Selena asked, as Miley ran towards the bathroom with her.

"Well, I guess Miley is going first."

About an hour later, the girls all came downstairs, after washing and drying their hair, and applying their make-up.

"So, where are we gonna go?" Nick asked, as a smirk appeared on Miley's face.

"What?" Joe asked, as everyone looked over at Miley.

"I have the perfect place."

**A/N: Well, hello my readers that have actually decided to read my story, even though I haven't updated in over a month. I'm so very sorry about that. But, here is a very long chapter that I hope can make up for it. I'm going to try and have another chapter up by the end of this week, also. So, I appreciate everyone that has stayed with me. **

**If you want to read an excuse, here's one: Well, for starters I have band for at least 8 hours a week, and plus every night I have at least 2 hours of homework in just Chemistry alone. I have two other Honors classes that I have to keep up with. So, obviously, I have been very busy. Still, I know I should have updated before now. I've also had a bit of a writer's block I'm going through right now. So, sorry for not updating, once again. But, this chapter it about 3,200 words, so hopefully you forgive me. I also really appreciate everyone who actually took a few extra minutes to read all of this. I love all my readers and I hope you like this chapter! **

**xoxo, Erin**


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